Shadowchasers: Cyber Fantasy
by Ten-Faced Paladin
Summary: A spin-off of Cyber Commander's Shadowchasers. Set in the city of Ottawa, capital of Canada, a young man who firmly believes in science and logic discovers the concepts he held such faith in are not nearly so solid. Trapped in his own creation and on the run, he discovers a world he never thought existed, but must now adapt to if he is going to survive and save himself.
1. Prologue: Monster Reborn

**I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the other series which may or may not end up as a crossover with this fic at some point or another. I am only writing this for fun. I want to thank Cyber Commander for allowing me to write about his Shadowchasers universe and 7** **th** **Librarian for getting me up to speed on what the Shadowchasers in the world of Arc-V are like.**

 **Shadowchasers: Cyber Fantasy**

 **By Ten-Faced Paladin**

 **Prologue: Monster Reborn**

 _ **I had always been the type of person who believed in what I could see and touch. Science, machines, that sort of thing were all real to me. Things like ghosts, goblins, elves, and that sort of thing were great for stories of Duel Monsters, but it wasn't real. Granted science could get out there with theories and such, but if I could put it in front of me then I was ready to believe it. Up until that night, I thought I had the nature of the world figured out. Holy cow was I wrong…**_

 _ **-Zeke Cunningham**_

 _-Systems Coming Online-_

 _-Final Checks…25…50…75…100%-_

 _-Motors (OK)-_

 _-CPU (OK)-_

 _-Data Storage (57% Capacity)-_

 _-Five Senses Algorithm Accepted-_

 _-Final Start-up Complete-_

He didn't open his eyes so much as they turned on. Like a video screen activating his eyes were suddenly filled with… a white sheet

" _Uhnnn. I feel like crap._ "

He stopped, although he should have blinked, he couldn't. His body felt strange, like he knew he should have been in pain, but wasn't. His voice sounded…hollow? No, the emotion was still there. There was tint to it now, mechanized? Yes, that was the word one would think when they heard it. His voice sounded mechanized, like he was speaking out through a radio or similar machine.

He shook his head to try and jolt his mind into working properly. Everything felt so fuzzy though. His body felt heavy and loose, like it wouldn't fit and…

- _Adjusting to user specifications._ -

The words printed across his sight in green lettering, like a computer program. Suddenly, the disorientation vanished and he felt like he was back to his old self. The man blinked and shook his body, feeling as normal as he ever did. Deciding he had enough of resting under a sheet, he lifted his arm and grabbed it to grab the sheet across his body and pulled it away.

A whirring noise came as his eyes adjusted to the sudden change of depth. He soon realized that he was in what seemed to be a sealed vault of some kind. Around him were numerous filing cabinets as well as several cases, all padlocked for security. Looking down, he saw that he was also strapped in. He reached to the strap holding him to…a vertical pedestal of some kind before undoing it and freeing himself.

Free, he stepped off from the pedestal, his body making more whirring noises in the process. Then his footing failed and he collapsed in a heap on the floor. He twitched and wiggled like his body wasn't used to moving. He struggled, but his limbs failed to cooperate. He couldn't feel his hands! Couldn't feel his feet! He couldn't move! Couldn't breathe! Couldn't-!

' _No! No! Don't panic! You developed this! You knew this would happen. Don't panic! Don't panic! Don'tpanicdon'tpanicdon'tpanicdon'tpanic!_ ' He thought furiously to himself as he tried to keep his thoughts in order, but not feeling the sensation of movement, his limbs, or breathing made it quite difficult.

- _Adjustment complete._ -

And like a switch thrown, his limbs started snapping with his flails, allowing him to roll over, staring up at the ceiling. He panted, a simulated breathing as his chest moved up and down with the sounds of servos moving. A few moments of calming down, he dared to sit up. His body cooperated fully, moving with all the ease of a normal body. Sighing with some relief, he slowly pushed himself up to his feet, testing his balance and finding no issues.

He looked around before spotting the door and approached it. Naturally, it was sealed and was perfectly smooth. It was made of steel while the insides were a safecracker's nightmare of electronics and good old fashioned heavy duty locks. The only way out was a small keypad with a set of numbers on it.

He reached for the pad, his hand hovering over the numbers. Should he hit the bright red panic button and get some help? He knew he'd likely kick up a fuss and no doubt a lot of people would begin asking some unusual questions. Questions he couldn't stick around to answer, especially if the wrong sort were looking into it. He'd almost died once for it already.

" _Cracking the code it is,_ " he sighed, focusing on the number pad. " _Now…how to do it?_ "

- _Retrieving Data_ -

He stiffened slightly, still unused to the computer words. What came next was a window which opened up. It took only a small portion of his sight and first showed some kind of blue uniform. It then backed away, showing a man wearing a Sector Security uniform.

" _There you go tin man. Nice and safe in Sector Security impound._ "

" _Hey, do you mind not talking to the thing? It creeps me out!_ " another man at the door called, prompting his partner to grumble before throwing the white sheet over him. What followed was a series of beeps before the sliding sounds of a lock undoing and then a door opening. The window then closed before opening a new one with a fluctuation line, one used to measure sound. The beeping replayed, making the line wiggle, showing each individual tone.

" _Ah, so it was recording even when I was out,_ " The mechanized speaker nodded. The window minimized as he looked to the number pad. He taped each number, each one eliciting a different sound. Once he pressed all the numbers, even the star and pound keys, the onboard systems began to compare. Soon, each sound the officer had used was identified and the entire code for the door was revealed to him.

" _8743519043_ " he repeated, tapping the keys in sequence. " _Lengthy, but less of a chance someone guessing it by accident._ "

The code was entered and the door suddenly hissed as its powerful locks were unlocked before the door opened. He stepped out of the vault, coming to what appeared to be a warehouse filled with filing cabinets, crates, and other packaging for objects seized by Security for investigations. One object was what looked like a large vanity mirror, likely some item from an investigation. Several parts were marked for fingerprints and there were bloodstains on a portion of it. He didn't need to touch it though. He just wanted to get a look at himself.

His body from head to toe was composed of gray metal. It had all the lines and shape of the human body, but composed of mechanics, electronics, and hydraulics instead of flesh and blood. Metal plating covered his body, but in the gaps like at his elbows, metal cords could be seen, used to ensure complete flexibility like a human could. His abdomen was slightly different, although flat, it was made of a protective rubber which concealed more of the metal cords, but also the bottom half of his electronic spine. Full flexibility. His fingers and toes were fully functional and just as able to move as regular ones could, albeit a little more durable than human flesh. His chest was designed like a human's, twin pectorals which he knew could open to reveal the sensitive machinery which kept him powered and computing. His face in comparison was a little bland, a polished metal cranium which was mostly featureless. His eyes were large round lenses which at the moment were white, indicating function, but the lenses would change depending on if he needed to zoom in or out on something. He did have a mouth, but it was merely an opened line. He opened it and tried copying the feeling of moving lips. He got it as the edges of his mouth retracted, helping reveal almost chainsaw-like teeth. It didn't mean much, more of a psychological comfort to the user, but did allow access to other portions of the head unit in case maintenance was needed.

Most people would be alarmed or even on the verge of a mental break at seeing themselves in such a way. Not him though. He was expecting it.

" _So this is who I am for now,_ " he nodded, the mouth moving as his jaw would when he spoke.

- _Uploading Data_ -

A new window opened, revealing the face of a young man likely in his twenties. He had blue eyes and brown hair which had looked a little spiked with hanging bangs, the ones at his temples looking to be red rather than brown. His eyes were sapphire blue and he had an easy grin on his lips. His shoulders appeared to be visible, showing he was wearing a lab coat of some kind.

 _-Name: Ezekiel 'Zeke' Cunningham_

 _Age: 22_

 _Note: PHD in Robotics and Computer Programming_

 _Alias: The Prodigy_

" _Well, it at least those degrees did this much for me,_ " Zeke nodded to himself. He was hailed as one of the youngest receivers of a PHD ever, especially in the fields of robots and computers where most people learn enough to put it to practical use, Zeke went all the way for his own degrees. He didn't want to just use the knowledge, he wanted to push it further than he ever had before. " _Still…_ "

Another screen opened up, this one showing a sight from Zeke's own memory, but the image was fuzzy, interrupted. Half the reason was that the computer onboard his new body was trying to bring an image from his memory to screen. Not an easy thing for a computer to do but with time Zeke's onboard systems might be able to handle it. The other reason was because Zeke wasn't too sure of all the details himself.

" _Almost done_ ," he heard his own voice say as he worked at a computer console. His memory self looked up and peered at the robot body he now inhabited. " _Soon we'll have this baby up and running._ "

*ZZZZT*

* _BOOM!*_

" _Oh my god!"_

" _Ahhhh!"_

" _Everyone down!"_

-ZZZT-

" _Just give us the robot and the production data and no one gets hurt!"_

" _Datadyne put you up to this, didn't they?!"_

" _Don't matter to you now!"_

" _I won't get my work stolen by a bunch of profiteering bastards!"_

-ZZZZT-

-ZZZZT-

 _*BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!_ *

" _ZEKE!"_

-ZZZT-

" _C...C…computer…b-begin upload…_ "

The images were confusing, and didn't mesh well. He saw flashes of people, men with guns, an explosion, not to mention felt the phantom pains of being shot when someone with a hair trigger got jumpy when he tried to block them off from his research. The research which culminated into the robotic shell he was wearing when god knew where his body had ended up.

The GX Production model, labelled GX-01 was a new kind of technology although the concept was in itself not new. The machine worked as a sort of placeholder for a human mind, digitizing one's thoughts and feelings and more or less uploading their minds into the machine. The concept itself was old, the technology having been developed by KaibaCorp a long time ago, although it was considered a taboo technology. After the Big Five of Kaibacorp used it to first try and steal the company from Seto Kaiba, then working with their old boss to try and steal the bodies and lives of the man and his friends after a setback in the system trapped their minds in cyberspace.

Still, when Zeke rediscovered the tech, he saw a lot of potential in it. How many people had slipped into comas only for them to come out months, or even years wasted? Their lives gone, loved ones moved on, and everything changed from how it used to be? What about patients in critical care? They would need very intense operations and half the concern was doing it without killing the patient, a risky proposition no matter how one presented it. Zeke's idea was for a medical project. By downloading a coma or critical care patient's mind into the robot body, they could live their lives as they would while their bodies recovered from their injuries. It was by no means perfect though since there would be rejection issues, perhaps some trauma, but Zeke was only good with the technology side of it. He'd let the medical community work out the kinks on their end once he made sure that the machinery was flawless.

Despite his well-prepared pitch, not many companies were willing to invest in such a thing. The shadow the Big Five put over it was a far-reaching thing despite the years since their plots were crushed. They said it was a good idea, but it wouldn't fit into the markets they worked with so they'd send him out the door with no hard feelings. In the end, only two companies expressed enough interest in the idea to supply him with a budget: Leo Corporation and Datadyne Industries.

Leo Corporation expressed an interest in using his invention for the field of dueling. The plan was to allow professional duelists to copy their dueling thought processes and download the data into the robot. Then they'd be disguised as a copy of the duelist and in various theme parks, patrons could duel with the copies as if they were dueling with the celebrities themselves. Also, they would serve as good dueling tests since they could theoretically be programmed to any skill level so a lot of Duel Schools would also be interested in the technology, opening the first of several potential markets for it.

Datadyne on the other hand wanted to use it for military purposes. A robot which could be trained to respond like a human would. They could send squads of the robots into hostile areas and neutralize enemies without risking any of their own men. Not to mention it would save the military an untold amount of money in training and medical care for their actual soldiers who could in essence, just waltz into areas and clean up the mess after the robots did the heavy work. Families wouldn't be broken by war and lots of soldiers would be safer out in the war areas.

The irony didn't escape Zeke's notice. A technology first pioneered by Kaibacorp was being considered for the two main uses the company pursued. Under Gozuboro Kaiba, Kaibacorp was a weapons manufacturer. Under Seto Kaiba, it was a gaming company. The same two purposes the GX-01 was being considered for.

Datadyne tried to romanticize how much good the technology would do, but Zeke wasn't naïve. He knew the military exercised things such as 'collateral damage' and 'acceptable losses'. That meant that in their eyes, it would be okay if some homes were destroyed or some people died so long as the mission was completed. Soldiers could be counted on to ensure that such losses were minimal and the civilians were left alone if it could helped. Machines on the other hand did not have that compassion and Zeke knew that Datadyne would program the robots to be efficient and consider their missions to be first priority. If it meant gunning down a few civilians to nab an insurgent or blasting away a few houses with people inside for that mission, they would.

Needless to say, he sided with Leo Corporation. Their applications with the tech would give him the funding and reputation he needed to take it into the medical community like he first intended. Datadyne wasn't happy with that and actually harassed him for a while. Several times he was hit with messages about how much money he'd make. Then he was hit with shaming messages about how many people he was allowing to die. Then there were outright threats stating he was against modern democracy and he could be arrested for treason. His home was even broken into and he received a bullet in the mail with his name on it. Still, he ignored it. His invention would be used to save lives, not order massacres coded under 'collateral damage.'

" _Didn't think it would go this far,_ " Zeke shook his head as he turned away from the mirror and paid more attention to his surroundings. With the thieves, raiders, or whatnot attacking his lab then it was undoubtedly a crime and he figured his new form was in a police lockup of some kind. Likely he was classified as evidence in case any arrests were made. That was secondary to his main question though: _Where was his body?_

" _A hospital, most likely,_ " he reasoned to himself. " _Can't be hard to find. It's probably comatose at the moment, if not in ICU somehow. I just have to look._ " Nodding he looked around for an exit and spotted one among numerous crates. He approached it, but stopped when he realized something. If he just left the warehouse, someone was going to spot him and if they did, they'd try to apprehend him. Unless he wanted some lengthy and probably violent chase from Security, he'd have to duel any officers that caught him. To do that, he needed a deck. Sadly, his own was most definitely not on him at the moment. His cards were rather special and a little difficult to find. It took him two years to track down all of the cards he needed. Fortunately, most who had them didn't care for the value. He only had to shell out some big cash for the collectors who had them. The ones who wanted the cash though, especially for his ace, were definitely worth it.

Zeke rubbed his chin in thought, " _I had it on me, so they probably took it as possible evidence since I do recall dueling one of those clowns before a sneak tried to make off with the robot behind my back._ "

Looking around, Zeke spied a terminal, likely one which kept track of what was actually in the warehouse. Approaching, he woke up the screen which lit up to an access screen demanding a login name and password. Zeke frowned and prepared to hack the program, but stopped when his right wrist clicked as a small chamber opened, showing a plug-in cable, the kind for USB connections. Snickering, Zeke pulled on the cable, showing that was length to it before he plugged it into the computer.

- _Accessing_ -

Zeke twitched and he felt a bit of vertigo, like he was in two places at once. On one hand, he could see the computer in front of him. At the same time, he could see a Duel Monsters field directly in front of him. The game was played, the security program putting up a fight. However, Zeke knew some unique hacking tricks to give him the cards needed to bypass them. Soon the computer was on the run and its life points dropped to zero. The computer's screen flickered and suddenly printed _access granted_ across the front. Zeke removed the cable and shook his head.

" _Woah_ ," he blinked. " _I…I was able to hack it as easily as thinking,_ " all he had to do was remember his hacking tricks and suddenly his onboard computer was executing the tricks and cutting off the computer as quickly as it could offer some kind of counter. There was a side effect he hadn't intended. It seemed that by working with a human mind, the computer was able to run quicker than regular models that were just simple computers. It made Zeke wonder if such a function could warp his mind or damage the computer somehow…

" _No,_ " he shook his head. " _Think about getting your deck back first. Deal with the theory later,_ " Zeke turned his attention back to the wall-mounted computer and scrolled through the options. Quickly he found the manifest of the warehouse, a listing of everything that as in it and why it was put in there. It was easy to find the confiscated Duel Monster cards and decks since nearly every crime committed involved them somehow. Finding his in particular was a little more difficult, but by cross-referencing his name, he managed to track it down to the filing cabinets it had been placed in.

One may wonder why someone in Zeke's position was searching for a Duel Monsters deck when he should be hightailing it out of there before someone saw him. However, if one had to ask that question then others would stare at the one asking and wonder if they had been hiding under a rock. Duel Monsters had evolved since the far past days of when it was just a simple card game created as a means to entertain. In the oldest days it was immensely popular, but soon took a leap forward with the Duel Platforms which allowed the monsters to come to life. That enhanced the game and made it a global sensation, but it wasn't exactly a convenient way to play the game at full throttle. Then the game evolved further with the invention of the Duel Disk, a portal version of the Duel Platform which allowed anyone to duel wherever they wanted. It first gained fame in the now legendary tournament known as Battle City and became popular to the point that one wasn't truly a serious duelist unless they had one of their own.

The game then really began to take root, becoming a facet in society to the point that entire schools dedicated to mastering the game and its components were founded. In fact, Duel Monsters had become such a part of everyday life, it was soon used as the main means of deciding disputes. Guns and other weapons fell out of fashion as criminals would duel the police in order to escape. Feuding neighbors would constantly duel over whatever they argued about that day. High stakes dueling became more popular than sporting events as fortunes were won and lost over betting on duels. Pro duelists who turned the game into their very careers were as famous as international movie stars.

All the while Duel Monsters and the game continued to evolve. The most prominent evolution was the exciting Riding Duel where duelists would ride on high speed motorcycles and duel around racetracks, upping the drama and adrenaline to levels on those with a hardcore love of the game could match. It really got to the point that people loved watching duels so much that it got distracting to everyone when one would start in public. That was the reason for the D-Gazer, an eyepiece which allowed people to see a duel through it, but not get everyone else distracted with the hot action which would come as a result of it. And then with the recent invention of Mass Solid Vision, technology which allowed for the holograms to become _real_ , allowing duelists to interact with their monsters in a battlefield, dueling had evolved yet again.

So for Zeke to seek out his deck was quite an obvious decision. Leaving without it would be like leaving without an arm or a leg.

He quickly tracked down the cabinet where his deck was stashed. It wasn't locked, the cabinet itself being located inside a Security Warehouse guarded by top security technology. Opening it, Zeke parsed through several decks of cards in labeled protective casing before he found the one with his case's number on it.

" _Ah, this is a relief,_ " he sighed, removing the deck. Flipping through the cards, he discovered that they were all present and accounted for, even his Extra Deck " _Okay, now to see if the Duel Disk function works._ "

- _Duel Disk Activated_ -

Zeke's left forearm suddenly had a panel slide back before a rectangular screen lifted out, roughly the same size an electronic tablet. The sides extended once the screen was free, the left side looking like a case for cards while the right side had a hollow point for the deck itself. The screen came to life, showing a blank playing field for the game with individual squares for the various cards. On the far side from Zeke, a line in the device flashed before with solid green energy which faded to black in the middle, appeared a traditional platform which monster cards could be placed, constructed with the Mass Solid Vision technology.

" _Glad to see this part works too. Wish I had time for a duel though,_ " Zeke chuckled, slipping his Extra Deck into the left chamber while inserting his main deck into the right one. Satisfied, he mentally instructed his Duel Disk system to shut down and it complied, the screen and holograms vanished before the device folded up and vanished back into his arm again. Satisfied one of his most precious possessions was safe, Zeke looked around the warehouse, " _Now how am I going to get out of here without triggering an alarm?_ "

-Monster Reborn: End-

 **A/N: I know, it's short, but this is the prologue. It serves mainly as an info dump. The action comes next.**


	2. 1: Machine King Prototype

**I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the other series which may or may not end up as a crossover with this fic at some point or another. I am only writing this for fun. I want to thank Cyber Commander for allowing me to write about his Shadowchasers universe and 7** **th** **Librarian for getting me up to speed on what the Shadowchasers in the world of Arc-V are like.**

 **Shadowchasers: Cyber Fantasy**

 **By Ten-Faced Paladin**

 **Chapter 1: Machine King Prototype**

 **In all honestly I should have been thrilled that the first activation of the GX-01 was proving to be a resounding success. I had downloaded my mind into the robotic body and was able to save myself. Hopefully my flesh and blood body had also survived. Still, I was filled with questions. Who had tried to steal the GX-01? How'd they know where it was? How'd they even get by all the security? And who had the resources to pay for such an expert team? I had a suspicion, but I couldn't do anything yet since I was stuck in a Security warehouse. I had to actually get out before I could do anything else.**

 **-Zeke Cunningham**

Zeke rubbed his metallic head as he considered his options. He was stuck in a Security Warehouse, likely tagged as evidence in his own shooting, and he didn't know where said warehouse was. Getting out wasn't the problem, since he managed to hack the computers, he knew he could hack the door if he needed to. The problem was getting out of the Secuity facility itself. It was probably wired up the wazoo with security features and no doubt they had firewalls to protect it. Zeke was a good hacker, but he didn't want to put those skills to that sort of test where his neck was on the line.

Zeke backtracked through the warehouse to see if he could try his luck with the door, if only to see where he was so he could better plan his escape. Coming close to it, he stopped when he heard the locks beginning to open. Silently cursing, Zeke ran to a pile of crates and slipped in behind them. Once he was in and hidden, he dared to look at the door which was already sliding open.

Stepping inside were three men who definitely did not look like Security. They wore all black outfits and even masks with goggles, concealing every facial feature they had. Once was tapping on his duel pad constantly, executing some program while the others were looking around.

"Okay," spoke the leader, his voice hushed. "Where is this thing supposed to be?"

"One of the vaults," the man working on the pad replied. "Vault two."

"So let's grab the thing already," huffed the third impatiently. "10 mil is on the line for this!"

" _You_ are going to keep an eye on the door," said the boss. "Warn us if any Security tries to get inside."

" _Fine._ Just nab it and let's go."

Zeke silently watched the two men, obviously thieves, walked deeper into the warehouse, heading for the vault section. If Zeke had his heart still, it would have frozen in fear. He hadn't closed the vault he had woken up in so the door was wide open!

"What the hell?!" Zeke heard the lead thief cry out. "Where the hell is it?"

' _Ah crap,_ ' Zeke mentally grumbled.

"Don't panic, they gave us a frequency to track it with, remember?" said the thief with the tech. "Just let me bring it up and…aha!"

Zeke heard a beeping noise and look to his waist. He called up a diagnostic and to his horror realized that a tracking device which he had installed in the GX-01 as a security measure had just activated. He couldn't just tear it out either since he had purposefully installed it next to some of the sensitive mechanics inside of his invention. Without the right tools, tearing the transmitter out would severely damage the capabilities of the GX-01.

"Huh?" the man at the door turned in Zeke's direction, hearing the distinct beeping.

"This way!" the tech thief called, he and his boss coming back from the directions of the vaults.

Zeke now knew he was officially in trouble. Decided that hiding and being discovered where he was wasn't going to help. He left his hiding place and dashed out into the main paths in the warehouse. He turned to see the third at the door stiffen at seeing him. That suited Zeke fine since he could use the shock to get past the guy and out of the warehouse before…

"Nobody move!"

Zeke grimaced, or as best he could with his current face, and looked over his shoulder to see the remaining two thieves slowly approaching.

"Someone must have turned the thing on," the Boss Thief commented next to his tech expert.

"It must be in Self-Preservation mode," the Tech Thief guessed, bringing something up on his Duel Pad. "Someone in the first retrieval attempt must have activated it during the chaos. It'll do everything it can do preserve itself unless we give the stand down signal."

Zeke's eyes narrowed at the Tech Thief. How did he know about the self-preservation programs he had programmed into the GX-01? Those were to help preserve the person who was using the machine in case they had entered a dangerous situation and for whatever reason, the human operating the GX-01 was no longer able to. That was when the machine itself would move to preserve its function and operator. The GX-01 project was a secret so how did some no-name thief get those details?

"So how do we shut it down?" asked the Boss Thief.

"We don't have the codes. The creator of this thing memorized those himself," the Tech Thief shook his head. "But we can get it to stand down manually by beating it in a duel. It doesn't have a deck so when the duel begins it'll try and draw a card and have none so it'll automatically lose."

"Sounds good to me," the Boss Thief stepped forward. He removed his Duel Pad and attached it to his left wrist, causing it to activate it's dueling functions, including creating a Mass Solid Vision playing area for his cards. "Okay tin man! Let's duel!"

Zeke frowned, but didn't see much of a choice. If he tried to run, they'd mob him and they could probably do it, especially if the Tech Thief had some tools on hand to put him down. Hopefully the noise from the duel would alert somebody and he'd be able to get away in the chaos.

" _Fine, let's duel,_ " he finally spoke, prompting the men to blink. Lifting his left arm, Zeke activated the Duel Disk function, opening his arm and summoning the device. The screen came to life with a dueling field active while the play area appeared in a flash of light. The deck inserted instantly shuffled itself, allowing Zeke to draw five cards.

"I thought you said it didn't have a deck!" hissed the Boss Thief to his comrade.

"It shouldn't!" the Tech Thief retorted. "It must have grabbed one from the evidence lockers!"

"Great," the Boss Thief grunted, taking his own five cards. "Okay tin man, let's do this!"

" _DUEL!_ "

 **Zeke: 8,000 - Boss Thief: 8,000**

"I'll go first!" the Boss Thief drew his first card. Looking at it, he nodded before slipping it face up into his Duel pad. "I'll play the Spell Card, Heart of the Underdog!" In front of him, an enlarged green card appeared, showing a rather plain man in a long jacket braving desert winds. "Now whenever I draw a Normal monster, I can reveal it to draw again."

"You do realize you're showing off to a robot, right?" asked the Tech Thief.

"Shut up!" the Boss Thief hissed. He took another card and placed it on his Duel Disk. "Now I'll play a monster in defense mode to end my turn."

The command was completed as an enlarged card appeared sideways on the field. On top of it was a purple energy sphere with eyes surrounded by thorny barbs, indicating a monster which was hidden from view.

' _Heart of the Underdog huh?_ ' Zeke thought to himself. Looking at the card, his optics suddenly highlighted the card before it appeared in a screen at the side of his vision, the text much more easily read than across the field. As a product of Leo Corporation, the GX-01 was installed with the latest dueling software and a link to the Duel Monsters database where every card conceived was recorded. Lots of duelists tried to bluff or hide the drawbacks to their own cards. And you couldn't tell when it came to the monsters. At least with Zeke as he was now, he could prepare appropriately.

' _Only a Vanilla deck would use that. Likely that monster has a high defense score then and on his next turn this guy will sacrifice it for something nasty. Best clear his field now then._ "

" _My turn! Draw!_ " Zeke announced, taking his next card. Glancing at his hand, a plan formed in his mind and he quickly got to work. " _I'll play Gem-Knight Tourmaline in attack mode!_ "

A blue portal opened in a wide circle before emerging from it came a knight in ornate yellow armor which had the gemstones he was named for embedded in the torso and in his arms. His gauntlets crackled with electricity as he stared down his master's foes. (4/1,600/1,800)

" _Now I'll have Gem-Knight Tourmaline attack the facedown monster! Jewel Thunder!_ " Zeke continued, pointing at the hidden monsters.

" _HA!_ " Gem-Knight Tourmaline obeyed the command, bringing his hands together to create a sphere of electricity as he began shooting across the battlefield. As he got closer, the card he was targeting vanished, revealing a tall man-shaped monster made entirely out of blocks of stone with stone swords on its shoulders. Tourmaline was not intimidated as it continued the charge and smashed the ball of lightning into where the rock monster's arms were crossed.

The Boss Thief grinned, "Heh! Too bad tin man! That's my Giant Soldier of Stone!" (3/1,300/2,000)

" _I figured, so I'll do this now,_ " Zeke countered, taking a card from his hand and slipping it into his Graveyard. " _I discard Gem-Merchant!_ "

Above Tourmaline, a silver pod-like monster with a wide brimmed sorcerer's hat revealing yellow eyes in the shadows, a glowing gem in its chest, and sporting cartoonish arms appeared. It gave off a squeaky cry as it did so, looking proud to be there. (3/1,000/1,000)

" _During the damage step, a normal EARTH monster that attacks or is attacked gains 1,000 attack and defense points until the end of the turn!_ " Zeke announced. The Gem-Merchant squeaked again before emitting blue light from the gem on its chest over Tourmaline.

Gem-Knight Tourmaline: 1,600/1,800 2,600/2,800

The Gem-Knight began to roar in triumph as its body absorbed the blue light, causing the electric ball he was attacking with to grow larger. The Giant Soldier groaned before the blast broke through its arms and torso in a blast of rock fragments. The entire creature gave one last cry before vanishing in a smoky explosion. Job completed, Tourmaline leaped back to Zeke's side of the field while Gem-Merchant faded away.

"Tsk!" the Boss Thief grunted.

" _I'll play one card face down,_ " Zeke finished, slipping a hidden card into his Duel Pad, letting a larger version appear on his side of the field. " _Turn End._ "

Tourmaline sagged for a moment at the call as his attack and defense scores returned to normal.

Gem-Knight Tourmaline: 2,600/2,800 1,600/1,800

 **Zeke: 8,000 - Boss Thief: 8,000**

"Fine! I draw!" the Boss Thief called, taking his next card. Looking at it, he chuckled, "As per Heart of the Underdog's effect, I'll reveal the Vorse Raider I just drew so I can draw again," Flipping the card over, Zeke saw it was indeed a Vorse Raider. Placing it in his hand, the Boss Thief drew another card, revealing it as well. "I reveal Frostosaurus so I'll draw again."

He drew a third card, but didn't reveal it, meaning it wasn't a Normal monster or he just didn't feel like it, "I'll start things off by summoning Vorse Raider to the field!"

A portal of light called out a rather intimidating creature adorned in black and green armor with purple orbs on it. It sported tanned muscular skin, showing it was indeed no pushover. On its head sat a savage headdress covered in spikes like a nightmare. Its face was just ugliness mixed with sharp teeth as it snarled, hefting a large cleaver-shaped sword in both hands. (4/1,900/1,200)

' _Vanilla Beatdown is it?_ ' Zeke pondered.

"Now for some payback! Vorse Raider attacks Gem-Knight Tourmaline with Vorse Edge!" the Boss Thief commanded, pointing at the Gem-Knight in question.

The Vorse Raider bellowed and charged at the yellow-clad knight, weapons raised high. Zeke looked to his Duel Disk, wondering if he should activate his facedown. Looking at it, and then to his hand, he decided against it and allowed the attack to continue. It didn't disappoint as Vorse Raider slashed through the Gem-Knight, causing him to cry out before exploding into golden dust. The force continued, prompting Zeke to shield himself out of instinct as he lost 300 life points in the exchange.

"Payback's a bitch, ain't it?" laughed the Boss Thief, "I'll put down two facedowns to wrap up my turn." As expected, two enlarged cards appeared in front of the man as he announced his move.

"Boss, keep it down, would ya? These walls aren't made to contain sound and I can only filter out so much from the security camera feed before someone notices!" hissed the Tech Thief.

"Ah this won't take long so just cool it!" the Boss Thief huffed.

 **Zeke: 7,700 - Boss Thief: 8,000**

" _My turn! Draw!_ " Zeke called, taking his next card. Looking over his hand, his eyes narrowed slightly before he made his move. " _I'll set one monster in defense mode._ "

Another hidden monster appeared, symbolized by the card and the orb-like creature within the thorny cage.

" _Then I'll set a card face down,_ " Zeke brought out another spell/trap. " _Turn end._ "

 **Zeke: 7,7000 - Boss Thief: 8,000**

"I draw!" the Boss Thief announced, taking his next card. He then flipped the card over, showing another Normal monster, "I reveal The Dragon Dwelling in the Cave so I can draw again." He then took his next card but did not reveal it. Instead, he took another card in his hand, "Now I summon Hunter Dragon in attack mode!"

Another flash of light summoned a black-skinned dragon with orange wings on its back and head. It sported a curved blade on the tip of its tail. It let out a terrible screech as it glared down at Zeke and his own forces. (3/1,700/100)

The Boss Thief pointed to the facedown monster, "Attack! Hunter Dragon attacks the facedown!"

The dragon screeched and swooped across the field, aimed directly at the hidden monster. The orb flashed before it and the card vanished, revealing a new monster. The creature was a turtle, but instead of a regular shell it had a large emerald instead of the usual bone. Another emerald was capping its head and each of its toes were made of the same substance. The Hunter Dragon lashed out with a tail, but it sparked harmlessly off of its gem shell. (4/0/2,000)

" _Gem-Turtle's effect activates,_ " Zeke announced. " _When it is flipped face up, I can draw Gem-Knight Fusion from my deck,_ " Zeke's Duel Disk slipped a card out from the deck, allowing him to draw it, revealing an image of twin knights flying around each other, surrounded by gemstones.

"Tsk!" the Boss Thief growled. "I'll end my turn."

 **Zeke: 7,700 - Boss Thief: 7,700**

" _My turn! Draw!_ " Zeke took his next card. Glancing at it, he placed it with the others. " _Okay, it's time to kick it into high gear! I play Gem-Knight Fusion!_ " he activated the Spell Card, letting it appear on the field. " _I fuse Gem-Knight Obsidian and Blade Knight in my hand together!_ "

Gem-Knight Fusion lifted into the air and transformed into a spinning and sparkling vortex of blue and red energy. On the left side was a Gem Knight wearing black armor with a ring of obsidian beads wrapped over one shoulder and under the other. (3/1,500/1,200)

The second monster was less ornate but wore simple blue metallic armor while wielding a regular sword and a shield. Although not as aesthetically pleasing as Obsidian, he was still an intimidating figure not to be messed with lightly. (4/1,600/1,000)

" _Gem-Knight of the heavens who represents the jewels of the divine! Raise your weapon and take part in this battle for the soul!_ " Zeke called as both his monsters turned to energy and were sucked inside the spinning vortex. " _Fusion summon! Level Five! Gem-Knight Seraphinite!_ "

Appearing from the portal in a flash of light with white feathers floating in the air came another Gem-Knight. This one was wearing golden armor and a long white cape with a blue underside. His face was featureless and white with a golden-crown like adornment on his head. Held in his hand was a golden sword. (5/2,300/1,400)

" _Now Gem-Knight Obsidian's effect activates,_ " Zeke continued. " _When he is discarded from my hand to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon a Level Four or lower Normal monster from my Graveyard. The monster I pick is Gem-Knight Tourmaline!_ "

A black hole surrounded by purple runes opened on the floor next to Seraphinite before Gem-Knight Tourmaline leaped out from it before landing next to Gem-Turtle with electricity crackling from his hands.

" _And now I will use my Normal Summon and call out Gem-Knight Alexandrite!_ " Zeke played his next card. Appearing next to Seraphinite was a knight in white armor who sported a number of Gem-Stones in his armor. They were a rainbow of different colors which kept changing in the light as the Gem-Knight moved. (4/1,800/1,200)

" _Now I'll activate his effect to Tribute him and summon a Normal Gem-Knight from my deck!_ " Zeke continued. Alexandrite's gems flashed before he vanished in a gold haze. " _Now I will call out Gem-Knight Crystal!_ "

The gold sparkles converged on the spot, summoning a very tall Gem-Knight appeared, looking more like a traditional knight and had white crystals embedded on the chest and thighs with more almost growing from his shoulders. (7/2,450/1,950)

"Ah crap," the Boss Thief winced. A machine was really pulling off moves like this?!

" _Next, I will Overlay Gem-Turtle and Tourmaline together!_ " Zeke pointed to his last two monsters. Both the turtle and the knight cried out before transforming into spheres of amber energy which shot into the air. Zeke pointed to the center of the field where a portal shaped like a spiraling galaxy.

" _I'll create the Overlay Network with my two monsters!_ " The two spheres shot down into the center of the portal before a pillar of light rose up from it all. " _Knight of the order yet to come! Show your radiance for all to see! Bring us your shining future!_ "

Rising up from the portal came a new Gem-Knight, although this one looked like he was wearing a pure white skintight suit of armor with thick arms and legs. His face was featureless save for slits with eyes and a mouth. The only color on his body were blue panels on his head and shoulders. Floating around him were several large pearls, but also orbiting him were a pair of amber energy spheres. (4/2,600/1,900)

" _Xyz Summon! Rank Four! Gem-Knight Pearl!_ "

"Fusion _and_ Xyz?!" cried the last thief behind Zeke. "Since when can a basic computer program do that?!"

"W-Well, it _is_ one of the latest programs…" the Tech Thief tried to comment.

If Zeke could have smirked, he would have. In modern dueling, with all the various means of summoning, it was hard to use more than one method since most strategies could only really utilize one without falling apart or getting disrupted. Anyone who could use two was considered good and borderline gifted. Anyone who had all three in use was considered a prodigy. Zeke only had the two methods, but he liked to think he had a knack for the archetype of Gem-Knights.

" _No point delaying things,_ " Zeke continued. " _Gem-Knight Seraphinite attacks Vorse Raider! Divine Edge!_ "

Seraphinite threw back his cape and dashed across the playing field, coming up the nightmarish Beast-Warrior. The Gem-Knight lashed out in a flash of gold which sliced through the monster's hide like a hot knife through butter. The Vorse Raider bellowed before exploding into gold sparkles, the backlash flying over the Boss Thief.

" _Then Gem-Knight Crystal attacks Hunter Dragon! Crystal Charge!_ " Zeke Continued. The tall Gem-Knight leaped at the black dragon aiming for a charging tackle as the crystals on his shoulders grew taller and sharper. The dragon had no chance to avoid the attack as Crystal smashed into it, causing it to go the way of Vorse Raider, sending another backlash over the Boss Thief.

" _And then Gem-Knight Pearl with attack directly! Pearl Meteor!_ " The white Gem-Knight leaped into the air and grabbed one of the pearls around him before hurling it at the Boss Thief. It struck true and exploded, knocking the thief back several steps.

"Guh!" the Boss Thief cried out. "I activate my trap! Solemn Wishes! I gain five hundred life points every time I draw a card!" A Trap Card lifted, showing a woman overjoyed as rain fell from above.

" _That's fine,_ " Zeke huffed. " _Now I'll use Seraphinite's effect. He allows me to have a second Normal Summon per turn which I'll use now._ " To show his command, a hidden monster appeared on Zeke's side. " _I'll end my turn with that._ "

 **Zeke: 7,700 - Boss Thief: 3,950**

"I draw, and thanks to Solemn Wishes I gain 500 life points!" the Boss Thief announced as his trap card launched golden light on him. "Now I'll reveal a second Vorse Raider I drew to draw again." He took another card, eliciting more sparkles to heal him. "Now I reveal Mad Dog of Darkness so I draw again." He took his card and more sparkles healed him.

"Nin-ken Dog!" Draw. 500 life points.

"7 Colored Fish!" Draw. 500 life points.

" _You've got to be kidding,_ " Zeke huffed. Did this guy bloat his deck with Normal monsters? That was going to be a pain to deal with.

The Boss Thief continued his turn, "Now I will play Pot of Dichotomy," He brought up another Spell Card and it brought out a large round pot. One side was purple, showing the purple and chubby face of the Pot of Avarice complete with jeweled teeth. The other looked like the white and holy-looking Pot of Benevolence complete with little arms held in prayer.

"Pay attention tin man, here's how it works," the Boss Thief said mockingly. "I when I have at least three different types of monsters in my Graveyard, I can pick one of each and shuffle them back into my deck and I can draw three cards. The catch is I have to skip my Battle Phase and I can only play it during Main Phase One."

"Boss, it's a robot, not someone who's impressed by all that," the Tech Thief commented.

The pot gave off a dual dark purple and white glow. At the same time, Vorse Raider, Hunter Dragon, and Giant Soldier of Stone slipped out of the thief's Graveyard. He picked them up and set them on his deck which was automatically reshuffled. He then took two new cards from the top, getting Solemn Wishes to heal him for another five hundred life points.

" _Okay…_ " Zeke sighed. This was starting to get annoying. If the stakes weren't so high, he'd be taunting his opponent.

"Now I'll summon the Rescue Rabbit," The Boss Thief announced, bringing out a rather adorable rabbit which was white with gray patches. It wore a small rescue worker helmet with its little ears coming through the helmet with goggles and a walkie-talkie around his neck. (4/300/100)

"Now when I summon it, I can banish it from the field in order to Special Summon two Level Four or lower Normal monsters from my deck," the Boss Thief explained. "The catch is; I have to send them to the Graveyard at the end of my turn." The Rescue Rabbit picked up its walkie-talkie and chattered into it before vanishing into thin air. "Now I use that ability to summon two Giant Soldier of Stone!"

Twin portals opened and two of the giant soldiers appeared, drawing their stone swords. The Boss Thief then raised his arm up, "And now I'll Overlay them together! I'll construct the Overlay Network with my two monsters!"

Both soldiers turned to amber energy before launching into the air. Like on Zeke's side, a portal spiraling like a galaxy appeared and swallowed both orbs. The center then exploded with light as from the center rose up a truly massive monster. It resembled the Giant Soldier of Stone in shape, but it was instead made completely out of steel and wielded a pair of real knives. Around it circled two amber orbs, indicating an Earth affinity like Gem-Knight Pearl. When it was fully manifested, it immediately kneeled down with its arms crossed, obviously in defense mode. (3/1,300/2,000)

"Xyz Summon! Rank Three! Giant Soldier of Steel!"

" _Okay…he can Xyz Summon too. No big deal,_ " Zeke muttered to himself. " _Plenty of people can do that. Even if they can summon things more impressive, this thing probably has a nasty effect._ "

The Boss Thief wasn't finished, "Next I'll play the Continuous Spell, Burden of the Mighty!" His card appeared in the field, depicting a hand reaching for a weapon of some sort, but found a nest filled with baby birds on it. "With this card in play all monsters on your side of the field lose one hundred attack points multiplied by their levels.

Flashes of light came from above and suddenly, basketball-sized rocks fell down from above to be caught in the arms of Gem-Knight Seraphinite and Crystal. Seraphinite took five of the rocks while Crystal handled seven, but it took a toll on their attack points.

Gem-Knight Seraphinite: 2,300 1,800

Gem-Knight Crystal: 2,450 1,750

" _Gem-Knight Pearl is unaffected because he has a Rank instead of a Level,_ " Zeke stated plainly.

"Oh I know, but I have something special for him!" The Boss Thief continued, playing another Spell card. This one depicted a one-eyed demon with a glowing light in its hands. "I play Faustian Bargain. With this, I can destroy a monster that was Special Summoned and in return I can Special Summon a Level Four or lower Normal monster!"

The Spell Card flashed and a beam of light fired at Gem-Knight Pearl. The white knight was struck head on and exploded with a cry of pain. From the smoke of the explosion another beam of light shot back and entered the Faustian Bargain card before it vanished into sparkles. The Boss Thief picked a card from his hand, bringing another Vorse Raider into the game.

"And now I'll play an old, but reliable card, Double Summon," the Boss Thief continued, activating his next card. "Anyone with a lick of sense in this game knows this card lets me Normal Summon a second time. So I will Tribute the Vorse Raider for my Frostosaurus!"

Vorse Raider flashed white and seemed to implode on itself before changing into a portal which brought out a large dinosaur shaped like a brachiosaurus, but one covered from head to toe in a thick coating of ice. Despite this, the creature could still move as it roared. (6/2,600/1,700)

"Because of Pot of Dichotomy I can't attack, so I'll end my turn by tossing four cards," the Boss Thief finished, dropping what looked like four Normal Monsters into his Graveyard.

 **Zeke: 7,700 – Boss Thief: 6,450**

" _I Draw!_ " Zeke drew his next card. Having done so many Fusion and Special summonings, he only had the one card. Fortunately, it was the only card he needed. " _I'll activate my trap, Raigeki Break! By discarding a card from my hand I can destroy one card on the field!_ " Zeke quickly slipped his lone card, Gem-Knight Sapphire into his Graveyard. " _Now I target your Burden of the Mighty!_ "

The card flipped up, showing a goblin from the Goblin Attack Force, getting electrocuted by a lightning bolt called by the hand of a sorcerer. The card began collecting energy, aiming directly at the Continuous Spell Card the Boss Thief had.

"Don't think so! Here's my Counter Trap! Seven Tools of the Bandit!" the card flipped up at the Boss Thief's command, showing a Swiss army knife filled with thieving tools. "I lose a thousand life points and I can negate and destroy a trap card you activate!"

A red aura surrounded the Boss Thief before it was sucked into the trap card. Seven Tools of the Bandit then shot a beam of energy which smashed into Raigeki Break and shattered it, leaving in unresolved and forcing Zeke to send it to his Graveyard.

" _Shit!_ " Zeke hissed. He quickly went to his monsters, " _I'll switch Gem-Knights Seraphinite and Crystal into defense mode!_ "

Both Gem-Knights took a kneeling stance with the loads of rocks they were holding.

" _Turn End._ "

 **Zeke: 7700 - Boss Thief: 5450**

"I draw my card," the Boss Thief continued, drawing his card and gaining more life. "I'll reveal the Giant Soldier of Stone I drew so I can draw again." He took his next card and got even more life points from Solemn Wishes.

"Alien Shocktrooper!" Draw. 500 life points.

"Gladiator Beast Andal!" Draw. 500 life points

"Nin-Ken Dog!" Draw. 500 life points

"D.D. Trainer!" Draw. 500 Life points.

" _Oh come on!_ " Zeke grumbled.

"Now I'll summon Mad Dog of Darkness in attack mode!"

Another monster appeared, this one looking like it used to be a dog. Instead, it's body was bulked with muscle and its paws were large, looking like they were better suited to a lion while horns grew from its head while it snarled dangerously at Zeke and his monsters. (4/1,900/1,400)

"And don't think those Gem-Knights will protect you!" The Boss Thief shouted. "Because now I play Lightning Vortex!" he played the card, this one depicting three bolts of lightning. "By discarding my The Dragon Dwelling in the Cave, I can destroy all face up monsters you control!"

The magic immediately went into effect as soon as the card was in the Graveyard. A large bolt of lightning shot from the card and covered both Seraphinite and Crystal, causing them both to cry out before they shattered into golden pixels. Zeke grunted from the force of the hologram and the lights, but huffed when the lights died down.

' _Okay, where the hell is Security?! That hacker can't be keeping this much off the cameras!_ ' Zeke thought darkly to himself.

The Boss Thief then pointed at Zeke's hidden monster, "Mad Dog of Darkness attacks the hidden monster!"

The evil dog roared before charging at the hidden monster. It immediately was revealed as a large vase with a blob of a monster inside of it with one eye and a large toothy grin. The creature began to emerge, but the Mad Dog lunged past, shredding the creature and destroying the jar.

" _That was Morphing Jar,_ " Zeke announced. (2/700/600) " _I trust you know what that means._ "

"Yeah, we both discard our cards and draw five new ones," the Boss Thief nodded as he and Zeke took their new cards. "Incidentally, I get another 500 life points from that little stunt."

" _Right…_ " Zeke huffed.

"But you're going to lose some!" The Boss Thief pointed at Zeke. "Frostosaurus, direct attack! Blizzard Breath!" The dinosaur obeyed and brought its head back before unleashing a blast of icy breath which had Zeke bracing himself. Were it a real attack, everything would have been coated in a thick layer of snow. Sadly, his life points did take a steep dive.

"Then I'll place one card face down to call it a turn," the Boss Thief announced, causing a card to appear.

 **Zeke: 5,100 - Boss Thief: 8,450**

" _My draw,_ " Zeke called before he looked at his hand. Scanning over it, he tried to think of a plan. ' _With that Burden of the Mighty on the field all of my best monsters are going to take a severe cut in their attack points. None of them will be enough to take out that Frostosaurus. But…that doesn't apply to their defensive powers._ '

" _I play another Gem-Knight Fusion!_ " Zeke announced, playing the unique fusion card. " _From my hand I'll discard Gem-Knight Sapphire and Gem-Knight Emerald!_ "

On Zeke's right appeared a rather thin Gem-Knight who wore silver armor which had a blue tint to it. Adorned on his chest, hips, arms, and legs were large sapphires. (4/0/2,100)

On Zeke's left appeared a green-tinted gem-knight with a small shield adorned with emeralds and a tassel of green hair coming from the helmet. (4/1,800/800)

" _Knight of the mystic waters, your shield is needed! The meek cry for a guardian to protect them from those who would abuse them! Heed the call and take up arms!_ " The two Gem-Knights became energy which swirled together inside a portal before burst of energy summoned the new Gem-Knight. The new Gem-Knight wore a sea blue suit of armor with a metal hood and a gray cape. Aquamarine stones adorned his armor and as a weapon he held up a shield which had a blade coming from the edge. One manifested, the knight took a kneeling stance. (6/1,400/2,600)

" _Fusion Summon! Level Six! Gem-Knight Aquamarine!_ "

"Burden of the Mighty takes effect!" the Boss Thief spoke up as six rocks landed in the defending Gem-Knight's arms

Gem-Knight Aquamarine: 1,400 800

" _But not on his defense points,"_ Zeke retorted as true to his word, Aquamarine's defense score remained unchanged.

"Gnn!"

" _I'll play one facedown card,_ " Zeke continued. " _And I'll end the turn with that._ "

 **Zeke: 5,100 - Boss Thief: 8,450**

"My draw!" the Boss Thief took his next card, gaining more life points in the process. It apparently wasn't a Normal monster since he didn't reveal it and instead made his next move. "I'll sacrifice the Giant Solider of Steel and Mad Dog of Darkness to summon Gogiga Gagagigo in attack mode!"

Both the selected monsters vanished to turn into orbs that merged and brought out a new monster. It was a towering reptilian monster covered in cybernetic armor and what skin was revealed was red with a green tinge. The creature let out a loud roar as it fully manifested. (8/2,950/2,800)

"Feast your eyes on this!" the Boss Thief gloated.

"Uh…boss? Robot?" the Tech Thief commented, typing furiously on his duel pad, something Zeke took notice to. Was that guy cutting off alarms before they could be sounded? Was that why Security wasn't coming in droves?

"Take this! Gogiga Gagagigo attacks Gem-Knight Aquamarine!"

Zeke snapped to attention and saw the cybernetic reptile charging at his defending Gem-Knight. He quickly got to work and activated his trap card. " _I activate Astral Barrier! I can turn your monster's attack into a direct one whenever I wish and I choose now!_ "

A card flipped up and showed a ghostly figure protecting a duelist from an attack. The image flashed before a ghostly image of Zeke as he was in his robot body appeared in front of Aquamarine, taking the attack from Gogiga Gagagigo before exploding. Zeke cringed reflexively as his life points dropped like a rock.

"Tsk! Fine!" the Boss Thief growled. "It just gets me closer to payday anyway" Gogiga Gagagigo halted its attack and retreated back to its controller's side of the field. "Turn end."

 **Zeke: 2,150 - Boss Thief: 8,950**

" _My turn! Draw!_ " Zeke took his next card. Seeing it, he grinned. " _Finally! I play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Burden of the Mighty!_ " The classic card appeared on Zeke's side before it shot a blast of magic power which destroyed Burden of the Mighty. Gem-Knight Aquamarine heaved a sigh of relief as the six boulders he was holding vanished.

Gem-Knight Aquamarine: 800 1,400

"Big deal! My life points are quadruple the amount of yours!" the Thief Boss scoffed. "Not to mention my monsters are both nearly 3,000 attack points strong! You've got nothing but that big shield!"

" _Not much now, but after Card of Demise I will,_ " Zeke retorted, playing the rather infamous card. Using it was a time bomb since it allowed the user to draw until they had five cards. But after five turns, they had to discard their hand. A death sentence in the wrong situation so Zeke knew he was on the clock. " _I draw until I have five cards._ "

"Yeah, yeah," muttered his opponent.

" _Then I'll play my Third Gem-Knight Fusion! I discard Gem-Knight Obsidian and Torumaline from my hand!_ " Both Gem-Knights appeared and vanished into the fusion portal. " _Knight of the striking thunder! The kingdom cries for your aid! Let justice strike swift and sure like your thunder!_ "

The portal flared and the new Gem-Knight appeared. It was covered in golden armor with topaz stones embedded in the chest and arms. Gripped in each hand were large gauntlet blades with large topaz stones embedded in the gauntlet sections. A dark cape trailed behind him as he landed heroically on the field. (6/1,800/1,800)

" _Fusion Summon! Level Six! Gem-Knight Topaz!_ "

"Crap! More Fusions?!" the Tech Thief cried, tapping furiously.

" _And then thanks to Obsidian's effect, I can summon Gem-Knight Sapphire to the field and I will place him in defense mode,_ " Zeke Continued, calling the blue Gem-Knight from a portal to the Graveyard. (4/0/2,100)

"Ha! None of those guys can beat Gogiga Gagagigo much less Frostosaurus!" the Boss Thief taunted.

" _Oh, haven't you learned anything about the Gem-Knights by now?_ " asked Zeke mockingly. " _They work best when they're together._ "

"But you used up all your fusion cards!" snapped the Boss. "Gem-Knights need a special card to fuse together!"

"Boss, it's a _pro-gram!_ " the Tech Thief grumbled. "And stop summoning the big guys. You're making my job harder! It's hard enough hiding the signals the summons make with how big they are!"

' _Ah, so it's not so much the noise, but they're blocking the energy signal our summonings are giving off,_ ' Zeke mentally noted. " _You are right, but Gem-Knight Fusion isn't the average fusion card. I activate its effect by banishing a Gem-Knight Obsidian from my Graveyard! Now it returns to my hand!_ "

Obsidian's card came out of the Graveyard and Zeke took it before inserting it into an extra portion of his Duel Disk built into his arm to hold banished monsters. Then from the Graveyard came Gem-Knight Fusion which he snapped up. " _Now I play it, fusing together Sapphire, Aquamarine, and Topaz!_ "

The three Gem-Knights turned into energy and then were pulled inside a swirling vortex, allowing Zeke to speak, " _Greatest Gem-Knight of the land whose power is peerless among all others! Let your rainbow brilliance shine on the fields of war and inspire those who follow you!_ "

A flash of rainbow light rose up and with it a truly massive knight garbed in silver armor. Embedded in his chest and making up his gauntlets were brilliant diamonds which sparkled with rainbow light. A red cape fluttered behind him and gripped in his hands was a broadsword with gems every color of the rainbow embedded on its surface. (9/2,900/2,500)

" _Fusion Summon! Level Nine! Gem-Knight Master Diamond!_ "

"Gah!" the Tech Thief cried as a red light flashed on his Duel Pad. "Shit, shit, shit! Boss, take that thing down! If it stays for very long then I won't be able to keep sensors from noticing it!"

"R-right!" the Boss Thief gulped. "Hey, Deacon! Grab that thing!"

Zeke flinched as a warning came across his vision.

- _Warning! Hostile Proximity Alert!_ -

Zeke's arm moved almost by itself as he threw his free hand back in a backhand strike. He heard a grunt of pain as he felt his fist hit something. Zeke looked over his shoulder to see the final thief collapsing on the ground in a heap, his goggles cracked from the impact to his face. A minor notice in his vision mentioned that the thief was knocked out. Zeke looked back to his opponent, " _Just for that, I'll remind you that Aquamarine's effect forces one of your cards back into your hand._ " Zeke pointed at one of the Boss Thief's facedowns before it vanished in a wave of blue power. The Boss Thief grimaced as he took back his Justi-Break.

" _Now before I was interrupted. Gem-Knight Master Diamond's effect activates!_ " Zeke pointed to his monster. " _He gains one hundred attack points for every Gem-Knight in the Graveyard._ "

"W-wait, that means-!" the Boss Thief gasped.

" _Obsidian, Emerald, two Sapphire, two Tourmaline, Pearl, Crystal, Seraphinite, Alexandrite, Topaz, and Aquamarine,_ " Zeke listed off. " _Twelve Gem-Knights equals 1,200 attack points!_ "

Gem-Knight Master Diamond: 2,900 4,100

"4,100 attack points?!" cried the Boss Thief.

" _Now I activate his next effect,_ " Zeke activated said ability. " _By banishing a Gem-Knight in the graveyard, Master Diamond gains the name and abilities of that Gem-Knight until the end of the turn! I banish Gem-Knight Topaz!_ "

The golden knight appeared for a moment before vanishing into pixels as Zeke removed the card. The Pixels were absorbed into Master Diamond's sword, causing the topaz on the blade to begin shining. He lost a portion of his attack strength, but that hardly mattered.

Gem-Knight Master Diamond: 4,100 4,000

Although he was sweating bullets, the Boss Thief wasn't losing his cool, ' _Okay, keep calm. You have two strong monsters on the field and you've got plenty of options on hand. You'll probably lose Gogiga Gagagigo, but you can spare the life points with Solemn Wishes helping you out._ '

" _Battle! Gem-Knight Master Diamond attacks Gogiga Gagagigo! Diamond Edge!_ "

Master Diamond lifted his massive sword before lunging at the cybernetic reptile, moving much quicker than one of his size would be expected to. In a slash of rainbow light, Master Diamond's sword cleaved through Gogiga Gagagigo, cutting the monster in twain with a single strike.

"Gn!" the Boss Thief grunted as he lost several life points.

" _Now the first effect from Topaz activates!_ " Zeke pointed to Master Diamond. " _When he destroys a monster, that monster's attack points are deducted from my opponent's life points! Topaz Beam!_ " Master Diamond obeyed and shot a stream of topaz-coloured energy from his sword which covered the Boss Thief.

"GAH!" the Boss Thief cried as he took the attack.

" _Now for Topaz's second effect! He can attack twice in the same Battle Phase!_ " Zeke continued, taking his next card. " _So now Master Diamond attacks Frostosaurus! Diamond Edge!_ "

"HUH?!"

Master Diamond struck a second time, beheading Frostosaurus who shattered in a blast of ice and snow.

"GAH!" the thief cried out as the shards flew around him.

" _And another Topaz Beam!_ "

The Boss Thief looked up to see the beam incoming and cried out when it struck him, taking away the equivalent to Frostosaurus' attack power.

" _I'll_ _end my turn with that,_ " Zeke nodded.

 **Zeke: 2,150 - Boss Thief: 750**

"Close, but not close enough! I draw!" the thief called, taking another card, but he didn't reveal it, making it likely that the card wasn't a Normal monster. "Okay, time for me to earn my payday! I play Advanced Ritual Art! A Ritual Spell Card! I can discard monsters from my deck to pay the cost, so I toss two Chamberlain of the Six Samurai!"

A stone pedestal rose up from the card and the two sacrificial cards were seen briefly before they vanished, turning into energy that was absorbed by the table, forming a magic circle.

" _Man and wolf, fused together, the greatest achievement of science to date! Let the creation be unchained and wreak havoc on our enemies!_ " The table almost seemed to shatter as a bipedal wolf stepped forward, snarling with fury. It barely fit into a pair of pants and seemed to have mechanical parts attached to its body, one on its chest giving off a dim red light. (6/2,400/1,800)

" _Ritual Summon! Level Six! Lycanthrope!_ "

" _Oh crap,_ " Zeke groaned. His computer brought up an image of the card, calling it a major threat alert. Seeing the text, Zeke read that when Lycanthrope did damage to the opponent, it did a further 200 damage multiplied by the number of Normal monsters in the opponent's graveyard. With how the Boss Thief had been ditching cards, there had to be a lot.

"Next I summon my Opticlops in attack mode!" the Boss Thief continued. In front of him rose a tanned cyclops with a single horn and wearing a furred loincloth, but was bulging with muscle. (4/1,800/1,700)

"Now to get rid of that Gem-Knight," the Boss Thief laughed. "I play Block Attack, forcing one of your monsters into defense mode. Of course, I pick Master Diamond!"

The card appeared and gave off a flash of energy which forced Master Diamond into a kneeling defensive position. Zeke would have broken into a cold sweat if he could. While Master Diamond's attack strength boosted with Gem-Knights in the Graveyard, his defense score didn't!

"Next I play Black Pendant, giving Lycanthrope 500 attack points!" the Boss thief continued, playing his card. A harmless-looking pendant with a black stone appeared around Lycanthrope's neck.

Lycanthrope: 2,400 2,900

"Now I attack Master Diamond with Lycanthrope! Biochemical Frenzy!" The Lycanthrope snarled and lunged across the field, slashing Master Diamond across the chest, causing the greatest of the Gem-Knights to shatter, leaving Zeke open.

"Opticlops, direct attack!"

The towering cyclops charged at Zeke and slugged him one, knocking his life points down into the danger zone. Warnings lit up across his vision telling him as such. " _Ow…_ "

"Boss, the hacks I put into this aren't going to last much longer before Security notices!" the Tech Thief hissed. "You've got one more turn at most!"

"Ha! One more turn is all I need!" the Boss Thief gloated. "I'll end my turn with one card face down!"

 **Zeke: 350 - Boss Thief: 1,250**

" _My draw!_ " Zeke called, taking his next card. He knew he was on his last legs and if he didn't do something to end the duel really fast, he was going to lose and likely the GX-01 would go into standby mode before he could get it running again but by then the thieves would have made off with him wherever he was and get him dismantled before he knew it. ' _Come on deck, don't fail me now._ '

Looking over his cards, Zeke would have grinned if he could.

" _I'll begin my turn by banishing Master Diamond to return Gem-Knight Fusion to my hand,_ " Zeke announced, removing the appropriate card before he placed the fusion card in his hand.

"Think I fried some circuits? It's banishing its best monster," the Boss Thief looked to his partner who shrugged.

" _I'm not done yet. I play D.D.R. – Different Dimension Reincarnation,_ " Zeke played the card, showing a blue-skinned humanoid coming out of a wormhole. " _By discarding a card like Gem-Knight Fusion, I can Special Summon a monster that's banished and equip it with this card. So return to us, Gem-Knight Master Diamond!_ "

Zeke discarded the card and in a flash of light, Master Diamond returned to the field, complete with all of his added attack points, totaling a whopping 4,000.

"Erk!" the Boss thief gagged. Inwardly, he was smirking. ' _Ha, just try to attack! Aquamarine isn't here to bounce a Justi-Break for you anymore! Once Master Diamond is gone again, I'll have Lycanthrope rip your legs off so you can't run off again!_ '

Almost as if to mock him, Zeke played his next card, " _Now I play Double Cyclone! By destroying one Spell/Trap card on my side, I can destroy one on your side!_ "

"WHAT?!

Twin tornados kicked up, picking up a card from both sides of the field. Zeke's Mirror Mail was destroyed while the Boss Thief's was likewise torn apart, clearing the thief's Magic/Trap zones.

" _Gem-Knight Master Diamond! Attack Opticlops with Diamond Edge!_ " Zeke announced.

Master Diamond bellowed and charged across the battlefield with his sword raised. The Opticlops, although a reasonably powerful servant of the Dark Ruler Ha Des, it cried out in fear as the leader of the Gem-Knights attacked. Swinging wide, Master Diamond's sword slashed through the Fiend, utterly destroying it and kicking back a shockwave which struck Zeke's opponent.

 **Zeke: 350 - Boss Thief: 0**

 **ZEKE WINS!**

"GAAAAH!" the thief cried as the force from the hologram's destruction launched him back. Unfortunately, the same force took his partner back, sending them both into the crates, crashing into them with cries of pain. They both groaned, showing they were alive, but they were down and out.

" _Well, that's that I guess,_ " Zeke nodded, folding his Duel Disk back into his arm. " _Now, how to-!_ "

 ***BREET! BREET! BREET!**

" **ALERT! INTRUDERS IN EVIDENCE LOCKER 4! ALL SECURITY OFFICERS PLEASE RESPOND! ALERT!** "

" _Oh damn!_ " Zeke gasped. " _No time for the subtle way then!_ "

Running for the door, Zeke hit the buttons on the console he hacked to open the door. It obediently did so and he ran outside, finding himself in an open lot surrounded by high fences. Several searchlights were looping around the grounds, looking for the intruders they were alerted about. Zeke didn't stay idle as he ran along the fronts of the warehouses just outside of view from the searchlights. Coming between two warehouses, he saw the way between them end at a fence. It was tall and had barbed wire, but neither obstacle was one for him as he was.

He ran at the wall, his speed growing higher and as he got closer to the wall. Skidding to a halt as he reached it, he heard shouts and cries from behind. No doubt the trio of thieves were captured already. But if the Security officers were in any way competent, they'd sweep the entire place for any others. It would only bet a matter of time before they found Zeke and dragged him back to the vault.

One may have wondered why Zeke didn't just try to talk to the officers and get help, but there was no way they'd believe him without proof. They'd just assume he was a weird program, shut him down, and lock him up again until he was released to Leo Corporation again where they'd likely dismantle him unaware of how Zeke's mind was inside the robot. No, he needed first to find some proof that he was Zeke, something tangible that couldn't be refused, and then get back into his body.

With that slipshod plan in mind, Zeke pushed the mechanics in his legs to maximum and leaped straight up. He easily cleared anything a human could with the same position and grabbed the edge of the wall before easily pulling himself up thanks to the mechanics in his arms. It was a feat he'd never managed before even in gym class back in his school days so in the back of his mind he was thrilled about that. Grabbing the lengths of barbed wire which acted as a second deterrent, Zeke climbed up and then over the wire. Positioning himself, Zeke leaped from the top and landed heavily on the street, bending his knees to absorb the force of the blow.

" _Any damage?_ " he asked himself. His onboard systems reacted and a blueprint version of the GX-01 appeared, showing all limbs and mechanics were in the green. The machine performed flawlessly so far. " _Well, the hydraulics and durability checks out._ "

Hearing the shouts of more officers on the other side, Zeke took off running down the streets, ducking into the first alley he could find before heading as far away from the Security facility as he could. With any luck, he'd be far enough away that the Security wouldn't find him and he could figure out where he was. After that, he'd begin trying to get the proof he needed to prove his identity and then maybe find his body.

 **It was going to be a long night for me and it wasn't going to get better for a while. It was just lucky that it was night and not many people were on the streets, especially with the Security Facility going wild. When the next day began, I would soon discover that the world of science and logic that I thought I knew so well wasn't nearly as secure and universal as I thought it was. I would be making my first steps into a world that I didn't know existed and was woefully unprepared for.**

 **-Zeke Cunningham**

 **-** Machine King Prototype: End-

Next Chapter: Zeke's adventure has just begun, but now one of the people who watch over the city on behalf of the world he has unknowingly stepped into is about to move into action.

Next chapter: Vampire Lord

* * *

 **Shadowchaser Files**

 **Adam, Son of Frankenstein**

The tale of Frankenstein as told by Mary Shelly is indeed a legendary tale. However, while most would consider it a story, those who are Aware and those who are Shadows would consider it to be a truth.

Victor Frankenstein was indeed a real person, but rather than simply being a student of science, he also researched necromancy. No one is entirely sure how he conducted the creation of his greatest achievement. Some believe he combined elements of science and magic. Others think he contacted a necromantic deity of some kind for superior powers. Some say he may have even mixed elements of life magic and death magic. In any case, the result was a living, breathing, fully functional flesh golem who showed intelligence.

From there, the truth plays out like the story. Disgusted by what he created, Victor abandoned his creature and fled. The creature survived and learned to speak, but was reviled for his appearance, or for the feeling of necromantic magic he gave off, both of which would push people away. He sought out his father and saw the life he had and begged for a mate of his own. Victor refused and so the creature began killing, or indirectly killing, the people Victor held close. He drove Victor to the brink of insanity until they met one last time in the arctic ice. Seeing what he drove his father to at his deathbed, the creature decided to destroy itself.

That is where the story ends, but the truth goes on.

The creature did attempt to kill itself, but failed when it became buried in ice and frozen. There he stayed for many decades until the ice he was frozen in broke away and drifted in the ocean. He eventually thawed and washed ashore somewhere in Europe, but all he awoke to was pain and agony of knowing he failed to even kill himself. It made him wonder if he was cursed to walk alone forever in punishment for his sins or maybe for even existing.

He wandered aimlessly, looking for some way to end his pain. He eventually came to a spot where the barrier which separated our world from the world of Duel Spirits was thin. He happened to discover upon a menagerie of strange monsters. Adorable, yet creepy at the same time. Seeing him, they were not afraid, but instead welcomed him into their manor deep in the forests.

They did not speak the same language, but they learned to communicate. They did admonish him for his crimes, but they were sympathetic to his woes. He didn't know how long he spent with the strange spirits, but time had little meaning in such a space. The spirits shared with him their own experiences, helping the creature understand a little more about life and existing in the world. By the time the creature had to leave, the spirits had given him enough will to live that he decided to see more of the world.

Naming himself Adam, after the first man, he set out to discover and experience the world not only for himself, but for the many friends he made back in the Duel Spirit manor. He has placed the burden of protecting life on his own shoulders so perhaps one day he could be forgiven for the sins of taking lives he had committed in the past.

Adam is known to Jalal and a number of the Shadowchasers. Normally destroying flesh golems is a regular duty of theirs, but Adam is a special case. He is clearly sentient and is alive, so killing him would count as murder. As for his crimes centuries past, it was decided that since he was frozen and was confirmed to regret his crimes, he technically served more than the number of years he would have gotten from a conviction. So Jalal and the Shadowchasers allowed Adam to continue his journeys. Although, they do keep an eye on him through multiple means of observation. Just because he had timed served does not mean they would let him go without supervision. Technically, he is on probation and thus the observation methods. Adam does not mind, knowing he is guilty of those crimes and allows the law to treat him as it sees fit. Still, he wanders, hoping to earn that redemption one day.

 **Story Ideas**

Adam could be simply pursuing his wanderings and stumbles onto a Shadowchaser adventure and lends a hand as a protagonist. So long as there are lives to save, he will do his best to ensure as many people are saved as he can.

If Adam were to be the main character, his story could possibly be looking for his father's research, hoping to build himself a mate to ease his loneliness. That or perhaps he seeks the Frankensteins' graves so that he may ask for their forgiveness for his sins.

Many necromancy groups would be hunting for him since even in the modern era, Adam is years ahead of his time as a flesh golem. Other shadows, particularly ruthless ones who adore the taste of flesh golems and other undead would consider him quite the delicacy. Even some Aware science-based groups would wish to examine him, believing science had a role to play in his creation.

Adam knows how to duel and he uses Ghostrick, the very same spirits who invited him into their manor and became his first true friends. He is deeply emotionally attached to his deck since he uses all of the Ghostrick cards, although he swaps out different configurations with his Extra Deck and spare cards he keeps with him. Trying to steal his cards is one of the few ways to truly bring out a violent response from him.


	3. 2: Vampire Lord

**I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the other series which may or may not end up as a crossover with this fic at some point or another. I am only writing this for fun. I want to thank Cyber Commander for allowing me to write about his Shadowchasers universe and 7** **th** **Librarian for getting me up to speed on what the Shadowchasers in the world of Arc-V are like.**

 **Shadowchasers: Cyber Fantasy**

 **By Ten-Faced Paladin**

 **Chapter 2: Vampire Lord**

 **I'm proud of what I am and what I do. Although there are those who would scorn me due to the circumstances of my birth, if I was the type to listen to that I wouldn't be who or where I am today. When I became a Shadowchaser, I vowed to hold true to the creed my father's family swore when they took up arms against evil; To Hunt the Night. Granted, it is not as clear cut as it used to be, but as a Shadowchaser the proverbial 'shades of gray' are just a fact of everyday life and one that I am living proof of.**

 **-Adrian Belmont**

When one talked about Ottawa, they usually only thought about how all the politicians in Canada met up to decide issues which affected the country. Others merely thought of it as a city and left it at that. Granted, there was a number of sites which had to do with either history, politics, or just another thing one could do in a big city. However, to those who were in the know there were even more places where one could go and visit.

One such place was the Shadow Market. A bazaar of numerous vendors, traders, and other merchants who had come or resided in the city to sell their wares. They specialized in things which the mundane would take as myths. Rare plants, magical gemstones, arcane books, and a number of delicacies which would be considered inedible or even toxic to humans but were thought to be delicious treats to some of the Shadows. The only thing which could be considered mundane were the Duel Monster cards which did the rounds in such a place.

It was this market that one man was searching for.

He walked along the sidewalk, looking like he was a politician or an executive. He was dressed in a black suit with a red vest and black tie. His shoes were polished and he wore what seemed to be an expensive watch. His features were handsome, but his skin was pale like he spent most of his time indoors or out of the sun. His hair was black as the night sky, framing his face while the rest was held in a simple ponytail.

It was the features one couldn't see that made him someone of importance. On his cheek was a black marking, invisible to the mundane while to Aware and to Shadows, it was a mark of pride and importance. It marked him as a keeper of the law and order to Shadowkind. Tied to his hip, likewise unseen by the mundane unless he was holding it, was a whip made of enchanted leather and treated to a number of rituals to ensure its effectiveness. Most of those in his profession carried swords, but this man held special permission since he'd had extensive training with such a weapon.

He walked with purpose towards a shopping center, one of the multi-level kinds just filled to the brim with designer goods and products. Walking through the front doors, he strove with purpose straight to the elevator. He joined two other shoppers and politely allowed them to reach their desired floors first. After they had stepped off into one department or another, the man got to work.

Looking to the panel where all the buttons were, he raised a finger and in an open space above the buttons, but below the emergency ones, pressed what at first glance appeared to be a blank piece of steel. A moment later, there was a ding as the elevator began to move downwards. Again, it was another trick to keep the mundane from finding out about anything related to Shadows. Mechanisms hidden within an ordinary one, only capable of working when one with magic power or Shadow lineage touched the button.

The man leaned back as he waited, the elevator going deep underground before finally coming to a stop. The machine gave off a ding and the man stepped out as the doors opened.

At first glance, it appeared like he had stepped into a fantasy-genre marketplace. Numerous stalls like out of a medieval market were set up with various vendors ranging from elves to dwarves, gnomes to imps, and even a few orcs were peddling wares. All of them were selling wares from the magical, to the botanical, even to exotic pets, and of course Duel Monster cards.

"Hello sir," a pretty elf greeted as the man stepped off the elevator. "Welcome to the Shadow Market. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Actually, yes," the man nodded. "I'm looking for Wagner, the Arcane Restorer. Is his stall open?"

"Well, his stall is there, but it is closed for the moment," the elf answered, looking slightly troubled. "He suffered a robbery recently and lost many of his wares."

"I am aware of that," the man nodded. "It's why I'm here. Shadowchaser business."

"I see," the elf nodded. "Then please go straight ahead and turn right at the first intersection. He's the fifth stall on the right."

"Thank you," the man nodded.

He walked in the direction he was pointed in, nodding hello to a few of the people who seemed to either know him or were just being polite. He made note of a few stalls he should visit when he wasn't on the job and one or two he should look into while he was. He made his turn and counted off the stalls on his right side until he came to one in particular.

It looked like any of the other stands, but it had a large wooden sign declaring the word 'closed' in front and all of the barrels and other displays which should have shown off the things for sale were noticeably empty.

"Wagner?" the man called as he approached the stand. "It's Adrian. Adrian Belmont!"

"Ah, good to hear from you," a wizened voice came from inside before an old man flipped over a flap of cloth in the back and stepped out. He was a hunched over old man dressed in arcane robes and had long white hair. Obviously he was a human wizard. "Glad you got my call."

"When you said you were robbed, of course I would respond," the man, Adrian shook his head. "So, care to tell me what happened? You don't look too distressed for someone who was robbed."

"Ah, he only took the stuff I hadn't started working on or had on sale for the lookie-lous and the rookies. He didn't get to the good stuff," Wagner waved off Adrian's concern. "You know I keep the things I'm working on, requests, and the powerful stuff under lock and key."

"True," Adrian nodded. Unlike many wizards who earned money by making magical items or something to that extent to earn recognition, Wagner worked by repairing and refurbishing magical relics. It made him the restoration expert of the magical world since whatever came his way, he seemed to know what it was, what was wrong with it, and how to fix it. Of course, the man had a library of books on magical items to help him out, but his skill with fixing said items made him a sought-after expert.

"Anyway, I got to the stand this morning and found the stuff I had in the back overnight all gone. Every wand, book, and amulet I had on hand was gone," Wagner explained. "He cleaned the place out I tell you."

"I see," Adrian nodded. "Any suspects?"

"Oh, I already know what did it," Wagner replied.

"What? Don't you mean who?" Adrian asked.

"No, I meant what I said," Wagner shook his head. "You see; I keep tracking spells on all my wares in case someone tries to make off with them. I even have some detection spells woven into them to tell me what kind of Shadow took 'em so I know who to look for."

"Clever," Adrian nodded. Trust the wizards to think ahead like that. "So what Shadow took them?"

"Well, that's why I called you," Wagner frowned. "You see, he gave off emissions not unlike arcane golems, but had the signal of a lich in him too."

"A golem mixed with a lich?" Adrian frowned, but then a realization hit him and he groaned, "No, don't tell me, a grisgol."

"Afraid so," Wagner nodded.

Adrian massaged his brow with a sigh. Grisgols were the ultimate bad idea when it came to recycling. It started when a wizard found himself cluttered with old useless tomes, low-power wands, rusty enchanted armor, raggedy magic cloaks, the type of things all wizards had to deal with. So in a fit of idiocy/brilliance, he decided he'd make a golem out of his clutter and get a final use out of his junk. So he made the body, using wands as bones, bits of armor as joints and a head, beakers filled with old potions as organs, and countless pages from tomes or scrolls as skin. Then, and this was the truly stupid part, he used a phylactery, the vessel a lich would use to house their own souls, to power the damn thing. Naturally a construct powered by such a thing would go on a rampage. Fortunately, the wizard survived and was able to explain what he had done. However, the genie was out of the bottle and grisgols began popping up.

Nine times out of ten, people who made grisgols kept screwing up at one crucial point. They kept forgetting what was actually in the pages and scrolls they'd use to make up grisgols. Countless magical books have spells which allow the caster to take over constructs and the phylactery, still sentient and capable of minor manipulation can trigger said spell, giving the grisgol its own mind, heavily influenced by the emotions of the lich soul powering it, and it will go on a rampage. Worse, the people who do get it right are generally necromantic groups who are fully aware of how dangerous a lich's soul is and can harness a grisgol, using them for their own nefarious purposes. Rumors often stated a nasty lich queen somewhere would have her minions destroy other rival liches and then use their phylactery to make them into her grisgol slaves.

Since grisgols thought with the emotion of their lich souls, but did not have the intelligence to follow any goals they might have, making one was a crime equal to making homemade bombs. Still, there were a group of mages and wizards, particularly ones who fought undead, who wished to make constructing grisgols a legal action, albeit one which would require specialty training and licensing.

Still, that was neither here nor there. Adrian now knew what he had to deal with and wanted to groan in frustration. This would be the fifth grisgol he had to deal with that year! "Okay. I understand why you called me then. Which way did it go?"

"Tracking spells followed it to Clem's old stand. You know, the one he accidentally burned down along with the stands around it," Wagner replied. "Probably hiding out there and trying to use the stuff it stole to make its body tougher."

"Oddly intelligent for a grisgol," Adrian frowned. "Okay. I'm on it."

"Incidentally," Wagner cut in before Adrian could leave. "If you manage to take it down, could I get my hands on the pieces of its body? Even without the core the body's a huge asset to a guy like me."

Adrian thought about it for a moment, "If the components aren't stolen from anybody else or weren't used in a crime, and once any curses are lifted from the remains, I think it would be acceptable. Now can I get to work or would you like fries with that?"

"Heh! Ah go on. I'll wait for some good news." Wagner laughed.

Adrian nodded and set out for the area which Wagner told him to look. Clem was a gnome who sold his little clockwork inventions out of his own stall. Sadly, he like all gnomes liked to tinker. In this case, he was tinkering in the back of his stall and caused an explosion which burned down his stand, and all the stands around him. He was looking at some hefty lawsuits and the area had been abandoned until magical cleaning experts could make sure the area was safe. In all, not a bad place for a grisgol to hide out.

Grisgols were obviously dangerous, but thankfully intelligence wasn't one of the reasons why they were so dangerous. They only had basic thoughts and were generally wrathful because of how pissed off the lich whose soul was with being used to power the construct. No, their whole bodies made them dangerous. They were filled with magical power thanks to the combination of wands and amulets that made up their bodies. They could spew the potions inside their 'organs' for a number of toxic effects, although in one case it ended up healing the grisgol's target so it could bash him all over again. They could also use spells, but only limited to the ones which were written on the paper which made up their skin and only the simple ones. Still, that made up a good portion of their bodies. They were also immune to magic, making it harder to bring them down.

The worst was the curse which would remain on a grisgol's body after it died. It varied, depending on what kind of scrolls and books were used to make it, but the most common one was that if anyone tried reading the old pages, they'd become obsessed with reading every strip and connecting them in a certain order, convinced that in doing so, they'd be able to recreate some epic-level spell which was hidden within the writings. People would literally waste away doing this if the curse wasn't broken in time. Generally, the curse was activated in a final jab by the lich inside the grisgol, hoping to bring the person who destroyed their vessel down with it.

Adrian soon came to the burned out section of the Shadow Market. It was cordoned off with warning tape and clearly marked that it was dangerous. A lot of magical devices, plants, potions and objects were destroyed in the blaze so officials were letting the residual magic fade away before attempting any cleanup. To a creature which wasn't alive like a grisgol, it was a good place to hide. Although, someone smarter would have hidden farther away but again, grisgols were not known for being intelligent.

Moving past the warning tape, Adrian braved the residual magical auras as he approached the tent the gnome used to own. Finding a charred entryway, he pulled a scorched cloth back to examine the insides.

Immediately his eye landed on a humanoid figure. It was wrapped from head to toe in the appearance of a mummy, but each portion of the paper which composed its body were marked with magic circles or lines of magical knowledge. Peppered along its body were amulets and other magical talismans which were partially trapped beneath the wrappings, occasionally sparking with low magical power. Coming from its joints were the tips of several wands, some old and some knew, forced into the creature's body. A raggedy enchanted cape hung from its shoulders and its head was composed of an enchanted helmet which was dinged and rusted, but the eyes were glowing an ominous red.

"Nn," the grisgol looked up from where it was ramming a wand with three purple gemstones on the tip into its arm, reinforcing its skeleton. Finishing the task, it stood up, beakers filled with expired potions jingling inside its body. "So you…found me…"

The grisgol's voice was odd, as if after every pause, it's voice would come out from a different part of its body. It was a bit of a surprise for Adrian since as far as he knew, grisgols couldn't talk in the first place much like regular golems.

"I did," Adrian frowned, his hand reaching for his whip. "I was not aware a grisgol could talk."

"Many can't," the construct replied. "But I can…now…" It pulled part of the cloak away, revealing seven amulets all with blue stones surrounded by glyphs marked in gold. Adrian was reasonably versed in magical trinkets and recognized the amulets pressed into the grisgol's parchment skin were amulets designed to increase the intelligence of the wearer. Little more than a schoolboy's means of cheating or a scholar's means of a study aid, but for something of low intelligence like a grisgol, they'd be invaluable. In the center of the ring of baubles a page was glowing, a measly spell, 'voice to the voiceless'. It essentially allowed objects to release a voice based on their experiences. Used for some magic investigations if a magical object was present in a crime…or a prankster's idea of a joke.

"Ah, explains why you're smarter than the average grisgol. And why you can talk," Adrian nodded.

"Yes…I am…sentient…" the grisgol replied. "You can't…destroy me…Shadowchaser…"

Adrian grimaced, but took his hand away from his whip. The grisgol was right. It seemingly had achieved sentience and intelligence with the lich soul forming a mind and then boosting what intelligence it had with the amulets. That meant it, unless proven otherwise, had the rights afforded to all sentient Shadows under the rule of the Treaty. Adrian couldn't just destroy it because it was a grisgol, but it still left the issue that it had robbed Wagner's stand of pretty much everything magical that wasn't nailed down or otherwise secured.

"Then I'm going to have to arrest you on grounds of robbery," Adrian retorted. "The man you stole those items from had tracer spells on them. I followed them right to you."

"Nnn," the grisgol grunted. "I'm not going."

The grisgol then lifted its left arm before it began to bulge around the wrist. Some of the papers tore, but most rolled away as what appeared to be an antique duel disk emerged. At second glance, it wasn't made of common metals and plastic, but wood, steel, and with a gemstone embedded on top. It was literally an antique, the early duel disks created by wizards and their ilk when the device was first created. It was supposed to be for traditionalists or those who couldn't exactly walk into a store for a modern one of their own. Of course, they didn't have a long production run since they ended up being more expensive than the mundane-made ones. So what ones were made ended up in the hands of traditionalists, eccentrics, and collectors. The gemstone orb on the top was a new addition though…

"If you want a duel then I will oblige you," Adrian nodded. Retrieving his black Duel Pad, he attached it to his wrist before activating the Mass Solid Vision duel pad, black tinged with red.

"Good," the grisgol nodded. A spark of magic power came from its duel disk before the playing field folded out from underneath the contraption. Once the duel disk was complete, the grisgol removed the orb, revealing the life point counter.

" _Duelists locked in battle…Kicking the earth and dancing in the air with their monsters…_ " the grisgol recited, making the orb it was holding begin to glow. Adrian's eyes widened as he realized what the grisgol was attempting to do. " _They storm through this field…behold…_ "

The grisgol's deck reacted as the top card slipped out and into its waiting hand. The construct brought the card closer to the orb while it spoke, letting the orb shine brighter. Adrian acted fast, reaching to his deck and drew the top card before throwing it like a shuriken, impacting the orb. The grisgol choked on its own dust as rather than falling off, the orb absorbed the card and flashed with more light, engulfing the area around the two, seemingly erasing the terrain around them.

As the burnt out stand vanished, Adrian continued the spell, " _This is the newest and greatest evolution of dueling!_ "

The last of the burnt remains vanished in white light before the light itself dimmed down. Rather than charred stands in an underground market though, the area had changed entirely. They were standing in a castle courtyard underneath a night sky that was illuminated by a blood red moon hanging in the sky. The stone walls were decorated with ivy while mist, likely from a moat surrounding the castle hung in the air. Behind Adrian were stone steps leading up to an ominous castle, glowing slightly red in the moonlight. Above both Adrian and the grisgol was a clear bubble of energy. Fluttering through it was a storm of Duel Monsters cards, although it was too high to see what they were.

"You…" the grisgol scowled, or would have if it could.

"I'm not about to let a perp get the home field advantage," Adrian smirked. "Welcome to the Vampire Kingdom."

The grisgol grunted, eyes narrowing, "Fine…I will duel…in your field… _Action…_ "

" _DUEL!_ "

 **Adrian: 8,000 - Grisgol: 8,000**

The bubble above the pair suddenly burst, throwing cards in all directions and shooting like falling stars all over the terrain. The grisgol did not remain to admire it though, instead taking a running start for the nearest set of stairs, leading up to the battlements overlooking the land.

"Since the field is mine, etiquette demands I let you go first," Adrian called, apparently unconcerned with the grisgol fleeing. They were in an Action Duel and there was only so far one could run even in a magically generated one.

The newest fad in dueling after the Riding Duels was Action Duels. Using Mass Solid Vision, duelists could be immersed in countless different fields and terrains, working alongside their monsters to gain territorial advantages and getting the jump on their opponents. It more or less opened a true battlefield to duelists rather than just a card game even with incredible holograms behind them. Huge dramatic battles like out of movies could take place, making Action Duels take the world by storm just like Duel Monsters itself did ages ago.

The grisgol got to the top of the wall, looking down at Adrian who had yet to move. Growling, it drew it's starting hand and its additional card, "I will start…by playing one monster…face down in defense mode."

The grisgol played the card, causing a glowing orb with eyes surrounded by barbed cables to appear, hovering alongside it. Once the monster was formed, the grisgol played another card. It appeared at his feet for a moment before vanishing, "I will play one card…facedown…and end my turn."

 **Adrian: 8,000 - Grisgol: 8,000**

"My turn," Adrian announced, taking his next card. Peering to where the grisgol had fled to, he took a running start for the nearest wall. In an Action Duel, losing sight of your opponent was a big disadvantage since other elements of the duel could be played against you in such a way. Adrian knew that and moved to make sure the grisgol couldn't take advantage of it.

Reaching the wall, he leaped into the air, only coming up perhaps halfway up the wall. Before gravity could reassert itself, a pair of black vapor wings not unlike a bat's appeared from Adrian's back. They gave a mighty flap, taking Adrian the rest of the way up before he landed on the wall's walkway. Landing as the wings vanished, he walked along one of the archer positions on the stone wall next to him.

Stopping, he spied a card wedged in the small viewing hole. It was marked with a stylized A on the back, making it an Action Card, a one-time use card which duelists used in an Action Duel. They usually had small effects, but could be pivotal. They could also be used as discard fodder for card effects. They remained in the user's graveyard until the duel ended, being Mass Solid Vision generated.

"Handy," Adrian smirked, scooping up the card to place in his opening hand. Since Vampire Kingdom was his preferred field, he knew what Action Cards it generated were and how to use them with his deck. Looking at the card, he saw it was a magic card, safe for him to use.

"There," he nodded before running along the wall, meeting across from the grisgol, "Now where was I?" He picked a card, "I begin by summoning Vampire Lady in attack mode!"

The mist swirled around in front of Adrian before a figure emerged. She was indeed a beautiful lady, dressed in a simple, yet elegant dress. With a slightly macabre bodice and bat wings emerging from the small of her back. Her arms were covered in silk gloves, but her skin was revealed to be a pale blue. She had long green hair tied in a braid and she was smiling, revealing elongated incisors, a giveaway to any kind of vampire. (4/1,550/1,550)

" _Hmmm,_ " the Vampire Lady hummed sensuously, offering her hand to Adrian who like any gentleman, kissed it.

Once the bit of theatre was out of the way, Adrian returned his attention to the grisgol and its hidden monster, "And now I will have my Vampire Lady attack your hidden monster!"

The Vampire Lady let off a predatory hiss before she lunged, flapping her wings to cross the distance between Adrian and the grisgol. Reaching the monster, she lashed out with her claws which slipped out from her gloved fingertips. The claws broke the brambles and the orb vanished, but was instead replaced by what appeared to be a floating moai head. (4/1,100/2,000)

"Damn," Adrian hissed. The moai head groaned as its mouth opened, letting a cannon barrel emerge and take a shot at the Vampire Lady. The elegant vampire dove to the side, letting the shot fly past. Adrian ducked to the side, dodging the shot before it hit a guard tower, causing an explosion which peppered the air with bits of stone.

"Moai Interceptor Cannons," the grisgol heaved a dusty laugh. "Too strong…for little lady."

"Tsk!" Adrian frowned, brushing some slight dust from his shoulder. "I'll place two cards facedown to finish my turn."

 **Adrian: 7,550 - Grisgol: 8,000**

"My draw," the grisgol took his next card. Looking around, it spied a nearby guard tower before breaking out in a run for it. Adrian scowled and took off after it, watching it vanish into the door of the tower.

He entered the door and looked down the staircase, spotting the grisgol running down the stairs. It glanced over its shoulders and spotted him. Forgoing the rest of the way, the grisgol leaped over the side of the stairs, coming down with a crash by landing on top of the wooden table at the bottom. Next to it, the Moai Interceptor Cannons crashed down to the stone floor with a cloud of dust. Glancing, the grisgol spied an Action Card sitting on a broken plate and quickly picked it up.

Looking up at Adrian, it dropped the Action Card into its duel disk, "I activate an Action Card…Harpy Soul." The card appeared next to the grisgol, the picture depicting a red sphere of power transforming into a vicious harpy, "I deal 200 damage…per card in your hand."

A red sphere emerged from the card which faded. It hovered above the grisgol before taking the form of a harpy made of red energy. It shrieked before flapping its wings at Adrian, launching several red feathers, four in total which cut through the air for Adrian.

"I think not!" Adrian retorted, activating his own card. "Here's my Action Card, Witch Soul!" The card flashed into existence, showing a blue sphere transforming into a typical witch, "When a card that deals damage to me outside of battle is activated, I can use this to negate the damage!"

The card generated a blue sphere which turned into a blue woman garbed as a witch. She lifted her arms and generated a shield which blocked the feathers. The witch smirked while the harpy scowled as the two manifestations vanished.

"I know every Action Card this field makes," Adrian smirked. "So I know exactly which ones to use when the situation calls for it."

The grisgol's eyes narrowed a second time before it dashed for the door to the guard tower, smashing through it rather than opening it. The cannons followed, smashing an even larger hole where the door used to be. Adrian went back the way he came, his Vampire Lady following with a predatory grin on her lips. Both leaped from the wall, using their wings to slow their falls before coming to a rest on the ground. Looking ahead, Adrian spied the grisgol running for the front gates where a drawbridge was down.

"I play Grave Ohja…in attack mode," the grisgol announced as it ran. The stone near the grisgol cracked before emerging came a purple-skinned bipedal beast rose up with a pointed stone head with a slit filled with razor teeth. Its forearms were covered in stone gauntlets with long sharp nails coming from the ends and wore a cloth wrapped around its waist. It bellowed, breathing out a cloud of stone dust. (4/1,600/1,500)

Coming to the drawbridge, the grisgol turned and spied Adrian and his Vampire Lady still in hot pursuit, "Grave Ohja will attack…Vampire Lady!"

The Grave Ohja roared and turned around, charging for Adrian and his monster. The Vampire Lady snarled and stepped forward protectively in front of Adrian, preparing to take the hit.

"I activate my trap, Half or Nothing!" Adrian called, allowing his hidden card to be revealed, showing the image of the Judge Man offering a duelist a golden axe or a regular one. "Your choice grisgol, either continue the battle phase with all your monsters' attack points halved, or end the battle phase!"

"…I end the battle phase," the grisgol scowled. Facing Adrian again, it looked to its Moai Interceptor Cannons, "I activate…my cannons' effect…I flip them facedown…" The canons flashed before reappearing as an orb trapped in thorns once again. "End…turn."

 **Adrian: 7,550 - Grisgol: 8,000**

"Then I shall begin mine!" Adrian nodded, drawing his new card. Glancing at it, he smirked slightly before setting it in his hand. "I shall begin by playing Hand Destruction." The Spell Card appeared, showing a Sasuke Samurai slashing his sword and four cards flying away from the strike. "Don't confuse this with Card Destruction. With this, both of us merely have to discard two cards before we can draw two more."

"Hn," the Grisgol grunted, dropped two cards into its Graveyard, Adrian doing the same before they took two new cards.

Adrian glanced at his two cards and nodded, "Well then, I shall continue my turn by playing King of the Skull Servants in attack mode!"

More mist rose from the ground to form a thick cloud before emerging from it came an unusually tall skeleton wrapped in a dark robe with its skull hovering in the air between its shoulders. (1/0/0)

"And now it's special effect activates," Adrian continued. "For every Skull Servant in my Graveyard, its original attack point score raises by 1,000."

The grisgol made a chuckle, "You…have none."

"Don't I?"

The King of the Skull Servants groaned as red light shone in its hollow sockets, dark power coursing over its body as its attack score increased. (0 2,000)

"…what?"

"The two cards I discarded thanks to Hand Destruction were Wightmare and Skull Servant," Adrian explained. "Now then, let's continue. First I will play the Black Pendant on my King. This will increase his attack points by five hundred."

A pendant made of black stone appeared around the King of the Skull Servants' neck, causing its eyes to glow with even more malevolent power. (2000 2500)

"I know the Grave Ohja cannot be targeted when there is a facedown monster on your side of the field. So instead, my King will attack your facedown Moai Interceptor Cannons! Necro Fury!" The King of the Skull Servants obliged as it prepared to launch powerful bolts of necromantic energy at the grisgol's monster.

"Trap!" the grisgol counted, flipping up its lone facedown card, showing a traveler bowing before a Guardian Sphinx. "Ordeal of the Traveler. When you attack…pick a card in my hand. Call as trap, spell…or monster. If wrong, monster goes back to your hand!"

"Very well," Adrian looked to the four cards in the construct's hand. "Far right. I say it is a monster card."

"Hee…" the grisgol laughed, plucking the card and flipping it over, showing it to be a Trap Card, Rock Bombardment. "Wrong…guess."

The grisgol's trap flashed and the King of the Skull Servants vanished in a haze of mist. Adrian frowned and retook his card, but he didn't look disturbed but rather simply annoyed, "Fine, but remember the effect of Black Pendant when it is sent to the graveyard."

The pendant the King of the Skull Servants wore reappeared before firing a beam of purple energy at the grisgol, striking its shoulder. It barely flinched, but it wasn't very much damage in the first place.

I believe that I will end my turn."

 **Adrian: 7,550 - Grisgol: 7,500**

"I draw," the grisgol announced, taking its next card. "I will play another monster…face down."

Another orb hidden in brambles appeared alongside the Grave Ohja, its eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Then I play…Catapult Zone," the grisgol continued, playing a new Field Spell card.

Yells began to echo in the distance and Adrian glanced to the forest in the distance from the castle. Emerging from the tree line came several armored men pulling and pushing numerous catapults, all of them aimed up at the castle. Many of the men began loading boulders onto the catapults, ready to fire.

"I know what this does," Adrian frowned. "If a Rock-type monster you control would be destroyed by battle; you can remove one from your deck to the Graveyard to prevent that destruction."

"Yes," the grisgol nodded. "Now I flip…my cannons to attack mode…"

The first orb and brambles burst, revealing the cannon in its stone glory.

"Now Grave Ohja's effect…activates," the grisgol continued. The Grave Ohja inhaled deeply before expelling a stream of gray dust which blew over Adrian like a sandstorm. He grunted and shielded his face as his life points took a minor hit.

"When a monster is…flipped face up…You lose…300 life points," the grisgol explained as the dust storm died down.

"I noticed," Adrian grimaced, brushing the dust from his suit.

"Now Grave Ohja…attacks Vampire Lady," the grisgol declared.

The Rock-type creature bellowed before charging across the field and thrusting its claw out. It pierced through the Vampire Lady, causing her to scream before she vanished in a blast of light particles. Adrian shielded his gaze from the light, but other than that did not seem bothered by the demise of his monster.

"My cannons…attack directly…" the grisgol continued, his stone weapon taking aim before firing a shot, directly impacting Adrian's torso.

"Gh!" the Shadowchaser grunted, stumbling back from the impact.

The grisgol's eyes narrowed, seeing that other than the impacts, Adrian wasn't sweating the damage. It silently pondered if the Shadowchaser had something in mind for the duel, something which made him so confident in his victory that he didn't mind taking a few hits. It began to make the construct wary.

"I…turn Moai Interceptor Cannons…face down again," the grisgol announced, hiding his monster once again. "Then…one card…face down…to end my turn."

The cards appeared on the field as Adrian prepared his move.

 **Adrian: 6400 - Grisgol: 7500**

Adrian took his next card, "My move!"

Looking at the card, he placed it in his hand as he contemplated his next move. Although he kept his cool, he knew he was in a pinch. With Grave Ohja and at least those Moai Interceptor Cannons on the field, he could keep dealing 300 damage every turn. Adrian would also bet that the other hidden monster also had the ability to flip itself back to a face down position. Worse, for the moment he couldn't destroy any of the monsters in battle since the Catapult Zone would save them, even if damage would still go through.

' _Attacking them would flip them up and keep Grave Ohja from using its ability,_ ' Adrian thought to himself. ' _But I would bet my bottom dollar that he has a Megarock Dragon crawling around somewhere in his deck. Filling up his graveyard with Rock-type monsters is just asking for trouble, but I don't have much of a choice at this point. I can't let that Grave Ohja keep whittling down my life points!_ '

Adrian let his eyes wander, looking for an Action Card which might be able to help him. Looking to the chains which were connected to the drawbridge they were dueling on, he spied one right in the links of the massive chains.

"Excellent!" Adrian grinned. Grabbing his whip, he unfurled it.

The grisgol noticed Adrian's gaze and turned to see where the Shadowchaser was looking. Its eyes widened when it took notice of the Action Card. Knowing that it could mean a setback to it, the grisgol turned to where the Grave Ohja was eyeing it, "Throw…me!"

Grave Ohja obeyed and grabbed the Grisgol by the shoulder before throwing it up at the high portion of the chains where the Action Card was located. Adrian narrowed his eyes and lashed out at the card, hoping to snag it before the grisgol could. Both came in close to the target, but Adrian twisted his wrist and the whip managed to strike the card first, knocking it from its pedestal. The grisgol grunted as it landed on the massive chains, watching the card fall.

Adrian dashed to the side of the drawbridge, snatching the card out of the air before it could fall to the moat below. Looking at it, he grinned before looking up the grisgol.

"Hn!" it grunted before looking to its monsters, "Lift me!"

The hidden monsters nodded and flew up towards the Grisgol. It leaped and landed on top of its cage, likely piercing itself in a few spots in the process, before it on both monsters hovered to the top of the gates, dismounting onto the lookout area. The Grave Ohja was quick to follow, digging its claws into the stone walls and climbing up, tearing chunks of stone out of the wall in the process.

"Heaven forbid they take the easy route," Adrian huffed before he crouched low and leaped straight up. His smoky bat wings emerged once again and flapped, letting him land on the tallest portion of the drawbridge chain. Another leap and flap got him to the top of the wall where he landed with a grunt. Lining the wall were several empty cauldrons, the kind in which hot oil would be poured onto would-be invaders.

"Now, where were we?" Adrian asked rhetorically. "Ah, I was just about to play my Action Card. Giant Golem Soul!" Adrian played the card, allowing it to appear on the field, revealing an image of a blue orb changing into a giant golem. "With this, I am allowed to summon a Giant Golem Token. The catch is that I cannot use it in a Ritual, Synchro, Xyz, or Fusion summon and it is destroyed during my End Phase."

The card flashed and generated a floating blue sphere which transformed into a hulking golem that was kneeling over with its arms crossed over its chest. (3/0/2,000)

"Fortunately, I will not be needing him for that long," Adrian continued, picking up his next card. "I will sacrifice this token in order to summon Vampire Dragon!"

The token was immediately swallowed up by a dense fog before a black portal opened above the two combatants. Emerging from it came a sinister-looking serpentine dragon which was covered in black armored scales with a red underbelly and patching wings. Its face was unnerving since it sported a single large eye with a yellow iris and its mouth had two vampiric fangs. The dragon let off a roar which sounded like a mix between a normal dragon's and a vampire's hiss (6/2,400/0).

The grisgol did not make a move, but tensed slightly.

"Next, I will use Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Ordeal of the Traveler!" Adrian continued, bringing up the spell card which launched a beam of energy towards the Grisgol. His active trap card appeared before it was obliterated, ending its effect.

"Nn!" the construct grunted, shielding its eyes from the dust kicked up.

"Now my Vampire Dragon will attack the facedown monster on the right! The Moai Interceptor Cannons!" Adrian pointed to his target. "Bloody Dragon's Breath!"

The Vampire Dragon roared before unleashing a blood red stream of energy straight at the hidden monster. The monster's bonds broke and it appeared as the Moai Interceptor Cannons, this time it would be the one too weak to withstand an attack.

"Activate…Catapult Zone!" the grisgol grunted, slipping a card out from its deck. "I discard…Revival Golem…to negate the destruction!"

A yell came from the siege line outside the castle before one of the catapults fired its ammunition. A boulder shot through the air before it came between the Vampire Dragon's attack and its intended target. The blast destroyed the boulder in a loud explosion, sending dust and bits of rock in all directions. Adrian had to shield his face from the dust while the grisgol did the same.

"Was expecting that at least," Adrian muttered to himself.

"Revival Golem's effect…activates," the grisgol spoke up. "When discard from my deck, I can either…place it in my hand…or summon it to the field. I summon it in…defense mode."

Between the two duelists, pieces of the destroyed bolder seemed to dissolve into sand before combining together on the grisgol's side, creating a kneeling bulky golem made of what appeared to be mud with glowing yellow cracks over its body and with sunken eyes and mouth, both likewise glowing. The entire construct was hunched over in a defensive position. (4/100/2,100)

Adrian sighed slightly, "Alright, I admit it. That is particularly clever…for a grisgol," shaking his head, he placed a facedown card on the field. "I'll play one card face down. I will end my turn with that."

 **Adrian: 6400 - Grisgol: 7500**

"My…draw," the grisgol drew its card. It looked at its hand before it glanced to one of the cauldrons. Watching Adrian, it appeared to be debating if it should go look inside for Action Cards.

"You're perfectly free to search for Action Cards," Adrian commented. "Shadowchasers are strictly prohibited from interfering with our opponents in Action Duels. Doing so would violate The Treaty, specifically the Fair Fight Clause. So please, do search. Just remember you only have a few minutes before you must make a move."

"Fine…" the grisgol nodded, jogging to the cauldron, it peered inside. Having found something, it reached inside and pulled out an Action Card which it tucked into its hand.

"Satisfied?" asked Adrian.

"Nn," the grisgol grunted before retreating back to where its monsters waited. Looking through its hand, it made its next move, "I sacrifice Revival Golem…for Hieracosphinx."

The steadfast golem collapsed into gold sparkles which quickly reformed into a new monster. This one held the muscled body of a lion, but sported the head and wings of a peregrine falcon. The new beast let out a shriek/roar which sounded of both animals that made up its body. (6/2,400/1,200)

"Then I play…Invigoration," the grisgol continued, placing another card on its Duel Disk. The card appeared, showing a burst of rainbow light which began to shine on the Hieracosphinx. "One Earth monster…gains 400 attack…but loses…200 defense."

Hieracosphinx: 2400/1200 2800/1000

The grisgol let out a dusty laugh before it pointed at the Vampire Dragon, "Hieracosphinx attacks…Vampire Dragon."

The chimeric monster let off another roar before it took to the air and raced towards the hissing Vampire Dragon.

"I think not! Activate Vampire Takeover!" Adrian countered, flipping up his hidden card. It showed a Vampire Sorcerer standing at the top of a castle tower overlooking a city as the blood red moon hung in the sky. "So long as I have no Field Spell cards and the only monsters I control are Zombies; I can activate the Vampire Kingdom directly from my deck!"

A card slipped out of Adrian's deck and he quickly placed it in the appropriate spot, changing the Field Spell. Shouts and cries could be heard from the forests and the grisgol turned to see the catapults representing his own Field Spell before torn down by zombies while the soldiers were being attacked and driven off by bats and more zombies. Behind Adrian, the castle looming over everything in the moonlight seemed to come alive with a blood red aura.

"Secondly," Adrian continued. "I am able to summon a Dark-aligned Vampire monster in defense mode. So I will select Vampire Lady to return to the field." A blast of black magic came from the stones in front of Adrian before the Vampire Lady reappeared, a smirk on her lips.

The grisgol's eyes narrowed, "Hieracosphinx…still attacks!"

Adrian began to grin, "Oh, but the Vampire Kingdom's first card effect now triggers. You see, during the damage calculation, Zombie-type monsters gain 500 extra attack points!"

The grisgol's eyes widened as it wheezed in shock.

Vampire Dragon: 2,400 2,900

The sphinx continued its attack, but the Vampire Dragon seemed to almost smirk before it inhaled and launched another blast of blood-like dragon's breath. The Hieracosphinx was engulfed and destroyed in an explosion, causing the grisgol to growl in agitation.

"I place…one card…face down," the construct spoke with agitation.

 **Adrian: 6,400 - Grisgol: 7,400**

"My draw!" Adrian announced, taking his own card. Looking over his options, he decided to try and pick up an Action Card of his own. Looking to where the empty oil vats were, he approached the one nearest to him and glanced inside. To his pleasure, there was an Action Card inside and he quickly scooped it up, finding it to be a Spell Card.

' _Mudman Soul. That may come in handy later,_ ' he thought to himself. Taking his former spot back, Adrian turned his attention to the duel. "Vampire Dragon will attack the facedown monster than I know is Moai Interceptor Cannons!"

Adrian pointed out the target and his dragon obliged, firing off another stream of crimson power. The hidden monster was revealed, if only for a moment before the attack destroyed it in a blast of rock powder. The grisgol flinched, but didn't seem bothered beyond annoyance.

Satisfied, Adrian looked to his opponent, "I'll end my turn."

 **Adrian: 6,400 - Grisgol: 7,400**

"Draw," the grisgol took its next card. Looking through its hand, it then turned to the field, "I flip summon…Moai Interceptor Cannons."

Another stone head statue appeared. (4/1,100/2,000)

"Grave Ohja's effect…activates."

The Rock monster blew another spray of dust at Adrian, causing him to cough from it as well as lose life points.

"And now I summon…Key Mouse," the grisgol continued. Another flash brought forth a white mouse with blue ears with a lock and key collar around its neck and another key coming from the end of its tail. (1/100/100)

"A Beast-type in a Rock deck?" Adrian frowned. There had to be a gimmick to the creature he wasn't immediately seeing.

The grisgol let out a dusty laugh, "It is…a Tuner. One I will tune to my cannons…and Grave Ohja."

The Key Mouse squeaked before unlocking its collar with its own tail, causing it to flash before becoming a single star-like orb. It rose up before transforming into a wide green ring. The grisgol's two remaining monsters rose into the air, passing through the ring and becoming orange wireframe images of themselves with four stars within each of them.

" _Ancient fortress given life…rise up once again…your master calls upon you!_ " the grisgol chanted, lifting at arm into the air. Meanwhile, the wireframe images vanished, leaving the eight stars to line up before a pillar of light engulfed them all.

" _Synchro Summon! Level 9! Giganticastle!_ "

An earth-sundering roar erupted from the background behind the grisgol. From Adrian's standpoint, he could see what at first glance looked like a sandstone castle rising up from the ground. However, just behind the gates of that castle, a portion of the building was open, revealing two red eyes. The castle continued to rise, revealing that it was in fact the head, shoulders, and upper torso of a massive golem made of sandstone. (9/2,900/2,800)

"Damn…" Adrian couldn't help but blink. Monsters that size were rare, very rare. How did a grisgol get its hands on such a card?

"Giganticastle's effect activates," the grisgol continued. "It gains 200 attack and defense points…for every non-Tuner used…to Synchro Summon it. I used two."

Giganticastle: 2,900/,2800 3,300/3,200

"Double damn," Adrian's eyes widened.

The grisgol let out another dusty laugh, "Now Giganticastle…attacks Vampire Dragon."

The massive golem groaned before it reared back its fist, taking aim at Adrian's monster. The Shadowchaser cursed under his breath before taking a running start at the edge of the battlements and leaping from them, his Vampire Lady close behind. The Vampire Dragon merely hissed in challenge and flew to meet Giganticastle's attack.

*BOOM*

It sadly didn't last as the massive sandstone fist smashed through it, and the portion of the castle walls behind it.

Adrian grunted as the shockwaves passed over him, unleashing his misty wings for a moment to slow his descent before coming to a stop. Spinning around, he clenched his teeth as he saw that the Giganticastle had plowed through the stone wall with ease. The stone barrier had crumbled like tissue paper against the monster's fist. The grisgol merely watched from where it stood, now looking smug from its position.

Adrian scowled. This duel was taking quite the serious turn. Getting his stance back, Adrian kept the duel going, "Vampire Dragon's effect activates! When it is sent from the field to the graveyard after being Tribute Summoned, I am able to draw a Level 4 or lower monster from my deck to my hand!"

Adrian's Duel Disk activated and listed the appropriate cards on the screen. He tapped his choice, a Vampire Sorcerer, before the card slid out of his deck. He picked it up, allowing the deck to be auto-shuffled afterwards.

"Hmph!" the grisgol snorted from its perch, unimpressed. "Turn…end."

 **Adrian: 5,500 - Grisgol: 7,400**

"Draw!" Adrian called, taking his next card. Looking over his hand, he smirked when he saw that he had everything he needed to end that Giganticastle before it truly became a threat to him. "I will summon Vampire Sorcerer in attack mode!"

Another portal opened, this one summoning a pale-skinned vampire wearing black and red robes styled after a wizard's. He wielded a tall staff, tipped with bat wings while a broad hat rested on his head. His bat-like wings flapped before he came to a rest (4/1,500/1,500)

Adrian didn't stop there, "Now I will change my Vampire Lady to attack mode before I play the Spell Card, Overpowering Eye!" He inserted the card into his disk, bringing a larger version of it to the field. "Now I can select a Zombie-type monster with 2,000 or less attack points and it can attack you directly this turn!"

"I am not…afraid…of your vampires," the grisgol retorted.

Adrian grinned, "The you have courage, but obviously not enough brains if you can say that so boldly! I will play Overpowering Eye on my Vampire Lady!" The Spell Card flashed and the Vampire Lady's eyes began to shine a blood red. "Now she will attack you directly."

The Vampire Lady hissed and spread her wings before taking flight, soaring up towards the grisgol, her nails extended for a strike. In the process, the Vampire Kingdom took effect, empowering the Vampire Lady for her attack. (1,550 2,050)

The construct looked to his hand, pondering a move, but then decided against it. The Vampire Lady came in and slashed the grisgol across the chest, making it grunt as dust fell from its insides while its glass organs clanked against one another.

Shaking itself, the grisgol looked down at Adrian, "I can…take the…damage."

"Perhaps," Adrian nodded. "But now that Vampire Lady has dealt you damage, I can now activate her effect." The Vampire Lady hovered back from the grisgol, her eyes still glowing. "I can now select Spell, Trap, or Monster and you must send one of those cards from your deck to the graveyard." Adrian pretended to give it a thought, "I dare not select a monster if what I suspect is in your deck is true, so I will have you send a Trap Card to the graveyard!"

The grisgol huffed, making a small cloud of dust, but obeyed as it drew a Battle of the Elements card and tossed it into the graveyard, "It does not…help you."

"Ah, but it does," Adrian continued. "Now Vampire Kingdom's second effect activates!"

The gothic castle gave off a rumble before the blood red haze began to grow fiercer than before. Seeing the grisgol beginning to grow concerned, Adrian decided to explain, "You see, once per turn, when a card is sent from my opponent's deck to the graveyard, I can select one card on the field, like your Giganticastle. Then I merely have to discard a Vampire card," Adrian removed a Vampire Grace from his deck and sent it to the graveyard. "Now I can destroy that card!"

The grisgol let out a rusty wheeze as the haze from the castle surged and fired like a laser beam. It struck the Giganticastle square in the chest, blowing straight through it. The giant golem gave off one last groan before breaking apart, massive sections of sandstone crashing to the ground below in giant clouds of dust.

"Now my Sorcerer will attack you directly!" Adrian continued. The magically-inclined vampire flapped his wings, preparing a spell as the tip of his staff began to shine a blood red.

The grisgol's eyes narrowed, fearing a discarding effect like with Vampire Lady. It quickly plucked a card from its hand and played it, "Action Card: Giant Ghost Soul! I negate damage taken during the Battle Phase!"

The Vampire Sorcerer shot a bolt of blood red magic just as the card appeared on the field. It let out a yellow sphere which changed to a giant roaring ghost which bellowed in a ghostly wail. The magic spell was snuffed out, leaving the grisgol unharmed.

"If you played that earlier, it would have saved your monster," Adrian shrugged. "I'll end my turn."

 **Adrian: 5,500 - Grisgol: 5,350**

"Draw," the grisgol growled, taking its next card. Looking over its hand, it began its move, "I will…activate a trap. Rock Bombardment!" the card flipped up, showing a castle being smashed by flying rocks. "I discard a Rock-Type…from my deck. Then you take…500 damage."

The grisgol slipped a Guardian Statue out of its deck and slipped it into the graveyard. The trap card then flashed before a boulder fired out of it. Adrian bit back a curse as he leaped out of the way, letting the rock crash where he had stood a moment ago. The rock was quite heavy, breaking the cobblestone of the courtyard and pelting the Shadowchaser with debris, lowering his life points.

"Now I remove…eight Rock-Types from my graveyard," the grisgol continued, its graveyard spitting eight monsters out including but not limited to Grave Ohja, Giganticastle, and the Guardian Statue it just tossed. "I summon, Megarock Dragon!"

The sandstone pile which used to be Giganticastle shuddered before exploding as the massive dragon rose up from the remains. It was a massive beast rivalling the size of the Giganticastle. Its legs were pillars of pure rock while its back sported numerous jagged spires of stone. Its head rested on an elongated neck, almost concealed by even more spires as it bellowed loudly, echoing across the red-lit night sky. (7/?/?)

"I knew it," Adrian grimaced. Anyone who ran a Rock-Type deck had a Megarock Dragon crawling in it somewhere.

The grisgol continued, "Megarock Dragon's…attack and defense…is determined by-!"

"The number of Rock-Type monsters banished in order to Special Summon it multiplied by 700. I know," Adrian interrupted. "This isn't the first one I've faced."

Megarock Dragon roared while it's master glared at the Shadowchaser. (?/? 5,600)

Still, the grisgol was undeterred as it pointed at Adrian's Vampire Lady, "Megarock Dragon…attacks Vampire Lady! Earthquake Shatter!"

The dragon bellowed and began to advance on the castle, intending on breaking through the walls to smash Vampire Lady into paste. The vampiric woman looked worried, looking to Adrian for some kind of assistance.

"Never fear," he reassured his monster. He plucked out another card and played it, "Action Card: Mudman Soul!" The card appeared, releasing a red orb which became a glowing man made entirely out of mud. "When a monster declares an attack, I can play this to change them to defense mode!"

The mudman curled into a ball and threw itself at the Megarock Dragon, splattering against its face. The dragon reeled back and lifted a massive leg to wipe at its face. Its charge stopped, Adrian and his Vampire Lady both let out sighs of relief.

"Nnn," the grisgol grunted in aggravation. "I end…my turn."

 **Adrian: 5,000 - Grisgol: 5,350**

"My draw!" Adrian called. Looking through his hand, he grimaced as he realized that his options for the turn were severely limited. "I'll sacrifice my Vampire Sorcerer to play a monster in defense mode. Then I'll move Vampire Lady to defense mode."

Vampire Sorcerer sank into the ground again, leaving behind a card on the field with the standard hidden monster on it. Vampire Lady kneeled down in a protective stance once more.

"Turn end."

 **Adrian: 5,000 - 5,350**

"I draw," the grisgol announced, taking a card. "I will switch Megarock Dragon…to attack mode."

The dragon roared and retook its attacking stance.

"Attack the hidden monster."

The dragon roared and charged at the hidden monster, smashing through the outer walls of the castle while the grisgol leaped off, landing on the dragon's head. Adrian cursed and made to run, his Vampire Lady following him. The hidden monster was not so lucky as the Megarock Dragon raised a massive foot and smashed the monster into pixels.

"Tsk!" Adrian grimaced, but he wasn't going to let it go without a fight, "That was my Vampire Curse you destroyed! Since it was sent to the graveyard through battle, I can pay 500 life points and you'll see it again during my next Standby Phase!" He grimaced as his body flared red from the life drain.

"So what?" the grisgol huffed. However, it tapped the head of its dragon which lowered, allowing it to leap to the ground. Looking over its hand, it let its gaze wander to some of the bushes which decorated the courtyard, but weren't destroyed. Wandering to one, it brushed through the branches before picking up an Action Card.

"Nervous?" Adrian grinned, acting braver than he felt.

"No. Cautious," the grisgol retorted. "I will play one card face down."

The large card appeared before fading.

"Turn end."

 **Adrian: 4,500 - Grisgol: 5,350**

"I draw!" Adrian announced, taking his next card. "Now in my Standby Phase, Vampire Curse returns to my side of the field!"

A new portal appeared from the ground before a new Vampire rose up. This one was dressed in light armor and sported pale purple skin and blue hair, but in a shorter style, hinting that he was a more modern human who transformed into a vampire. Only one bat wing rose from his shoulder while the other was covered by a red cloak. (6/2,000/800)

"Furthermore, when summoned in this manner, he gains 500 attack points," Adrian continued, showing his vampire glowing with red power. (2,000 2,500)

"Next, by allowing a level 5 or higher Zombie-Type to be summoned from my graveyard by the effect of a Zombie-Type, I can activate Vampire Grace's effect! By paying 2,000 life points," Adrian grimaced as a red aura came over him, draining the allotted life points. "I can special summon her from the graveyard as well!"

Another dark portal opened before a woman dressed much like a ruling monarch rose up. Her dress was quite dark and she wielded a scepter. Her skin was deathly pale and the usual vampire claws wrapped around her midsection. (6/2,000/1,200)

"Next, I will activate the effect of Vampire Sorcerer in my graveyard," Adrian continued, tapping a button to slip the selected card out of his graveyard. "By removing him from the graveyard, for this turn only, I can perform a Normal Summon of a level 5 or 6 monster without a tribute! So now I will use it to summon my Vampire Lord!"

A pillar of dark fog rose up, summoning perhaps the most well-known of the Vampire archetype. A tall man with pale skin and blue hair, dressed in an impeccable suit with a cape. Spindly arms wrapped along the cape, enhancing his vampiric appearance. (5/2,000/1,500)

"Good monsters…" the grisgol admitted. "But not strong enough…to beat my…dragon."

"I won't have to," Adrian grinned. "I can let Vampire Kingdom do that for me."

"You'd have to…hit me…first," the grisgol retorted.

"Not so!" Adrian shook his head. "It's all thanks to Vampire Grace's effect. Once per turn, I can select either Monster, Spell, or Trap cards and you have to send one from your deck to the graveyard!"

The grisgol's eyes widened as Vampire Grace's began to glow red.

"Now I select a Spell Card!" Adrian announced. The grisgol scowled as a Spell card, Break the Moon, was ejected from its deck to toss to the Graveyard. As it did so, the vampire's castle began to glow again as Adrian tossed a second Vampire Sorcerer into his graveyard. "Now say goodbye to Megarock Dragon!"

The grisgol leaped from the dragon's head just as the castle fired another blast of blood red power. The Megarock Dragon was blasted clean through, sending bits of rock in all directions as it was destroyed. The grisgol landed heavily, a snap coming from one of the wands jammed in its leg, indicating it broke. Fortunately, grisgols could not feel pain. Instead, it got up and pulled the broken wand out of its leg before tossing it away.

"Wagner won't like that," Adrian sighed. Shaking his head, he gestured to the grisgol, "Vampire Curse, attack!"

Vampire Curse: (2,500 3,000)

The transformed Vampire hissed before it dashed towards the grisgol, his claws raised and ready for a savage strike. The construct wasn't going to take it though as it quickly played its next card, "Action Card: Persephone Soul!"

Adrian frowned as the card appeared, ejecting a blue orb which transformed into a woman dressed as a maid holding a vacuum which was modelled after a giant skull as the machine with a snake skeleton acting as the hose.

"With this…I can drain…one attack…and turn it into…life points," the grisgol spoke. The spectral maid lifted her vacuum and it began to suck with the force of a storm. The Vampire Curse skidded to a halt as a red aura was drained from its body and absorbed into the vacuum. The red glow then turned green and escaped the machine, bathing the grisgol with the energy.

"Damn," Adrian hissed. "Very well. Vampire Grace, attack!"

The queenly vampire blasted the grisgol with energy from her scepter. (2,000 2,500)

"Vampire Lord is next! Trap cards!"

Vampire Lord sped in and slashed the grisgol. (2,000 2,500) The grisgol ditched another Battle of the Elements card.

"Vampire Lady! Strike! Spell Cards!"

The Vampire Lady hissed and made her own charge, slashing the grisgol across the torso, forcing it to drop a Shifting Shadows Spell card. (1,550 2,050)

The grisgols tumbled slightly, it's body slightly more tattered than it was before, but it was still on its feet and looking defiantly.

"I end my turn," Adrian frowned.

 **Adrian: 2,500 - Grisgol: 1,300**

"My…draw!" the grisgol called, taking its next card. Looking to its hand, it stopped and looked around the area.

Adrian knew it was looking for an Action Card. Deciding to likewise take the opportunity for himself, Adrian glanced around. He knew the terrain well so he knew where the Action Cards were likely to show up. Glancing over his shoulder to the arch which opened up to the stairs leading to the castle, he turned and ran to the gates.

"Come on, come on," Adrian frowned, coming to the archway. Checking the doorway, he spotted one Action Card stuck between two stone blocks, "Yes!"

He looked at the card before he grimaced slightly, ' _No! Headhunter Soul? It only helps if I destroy a monster and it gives me that monster's defense score in life points! I can't use this here! Maybe if I draw another Hand Destruction, but if that grisgol pulls a fast one, it might mean the end of me!_ '

Meanwhile the grisgol began pulling the ivy away from the stone walls of the courtyard which remained intact. Yanking a particularly stubborn vine away, its eyes landed on an Action card pinned by another vine. Tearing the plant material away, it plucked the card and gazed at the surface. Its eyes narrowed in glee before turning around to face Adrian across the courtyard.

"I play another…Catapult Zone," the grisgol announced.

Adrian grimaced as the aura around the castle dimmed as the yells of soldiers and the groans of more catapults emerged from the forests in the distance. He was cut off from his main means of taking down any monsters with ease, but also lost the power boost his monsters would receive from the castle. Plus, it would allow the grisgol to begin piling more Rock monsters into its graveyard, likely for another Megarock Dragon.

"Now I activate…my trap," the grisgol continued, flipping up a hidden card. It depicted a canyon wall cracking with light emerging from it. "Release From Stone. I can Special Summon…a Rock monster that I…removed from play."

Adrian's eyes widened, "Oh no."

"I choose…Giganticastle."

The ground outside the castle almost seemed to explode before the massive castle-like golem rose up. The soldiers represent Catapult Zone cheered for the appearance of the massive golem. Dust falling from its body, it stared down at Adrian. (9/2,900/2,800)

"Next card," the grisgol announce, putting the card down, "Action Card: Shadow Knight Soul. I can summon…a copy of my weakest…monster."

"Gnn," Adrian scowled. Shadow Knight Soul was one of the hardest Action Cards to find in Vampire Kingdom and the grisgol managed to find it through dumb luck?! Headhunter Soul was rare as well, but it wasn't going to help Adrian now!

"I cannot…tribute the token…and it is destroyed at…the end of my turn," the grisgol wheezed in a mockery of laughter. "But that…does not matter."

The shadow of the Giganticastle rippled as the action Card sank into it. Soon, rising up from the darkness came the massive copy of the golem. It was almost a perfect copy save for the fact that it looked like it was made of smoke and its eyes were glowing red.

"Giganticastle attacks…Vampire Grace," the grisgol ordered.

The massive castle reared back its fist and slammed down towards Adrian and his monsters. The Vampire Grace nodded to Adrian who nodded back and used his smoky wings to leap away, taking his mother monsters with him. Giganticastle's fist smashed down on the arch, taking it and Vampire Grace down in one thunderous crash.

"Gn!" Adrian winced as the pixels flew, taking his life points with it.

"Shadow Giganticastle attacks, Vampire Lady!"

The shadowy copy of the golem lunged, phasing over the courtyard before swinging down for the Vampire Lady in the process. Adrian leaped again, landing on the upper half of the stairs as the shadow smashed the portion of the stairs with the Vampire Lady on them, taking even more of Adrian's life points away.

Adrian grimaced, his life points incredibly close to zero.

"I end…my turn," the grisgol laughed with a wheeze. The Shadow Giganticastle groaned before fading away, leaving only the original.

 **Adrian: 250 - Grisgol: 1,300**

"My draw," Adrian huffed, taking his next card. "I must admit, I never expected so much trouble from a grisgol. You took me by surprise more than once."

The grisgol didn't reply as it reached the destroyed arch, stepping over the rubble Giganticastle made.

"So I must give credit where credit is due, but now it is time for me as a Shadowchaser to do my job," Adrian called. "First, I'll play another Hand Destruction!"

The card activated and Adrian tossed his King of the Skull Servants and Headhunter Soul before drawing two new cards.

"It won't…stop me," the grisgol scoffed, plucking up two new cards.

"Oh, in Duel Monsters, everything can change with just one card," Adrian grinned. "I'll show you what I mean. I'll play my Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Release From Stone!"

The Spell card appeared, causing the grisgol to let out a choked wheeze. The card released a beam of pure energy which impacted against the grisgol's trap, shattering it. Immediately, the Giganticastle groaned before cracks spread through it and it shattered once again, letting pieces fall to the ground in heaps, destroying more of the courtyard.

"GRRRRRR!" the grisgol snarled, glaring up at Adrian.

"Now, you've showed me your best so allow me to show you one of mine," Adrian grinned, "I'll remove the second Vampire Sorcerer in my graveyard to Normal Summon another Vampire Lord from my hand!"

Adrian took out the card before a second Vampire Lord rose up next to its twin, both glaring down at the grisgol for the destruction its monsters had wrought on the castle courtyard, nearing the castle itself with the last one.

"And now I shall Overlay my two Vampire Lords!" Adrian announced. Both Vampire Lords responded with a hiss before they changed into spheres of purple energy which shot into the air. Above Adrian, at the castle doorway, a spiraling portal opened which swallowed the two orbs.

" _Progenitor of the vampire race reborn as he was meant to be! Knight, crusader, king of the night itself! Come forth and punish the fools who dare tread in your keep!_ "

The portal let out a blast of red light as a red-mist like smog began to pour from where the portal had been. Emerging from it came a tall man clad in nightmarish purple armor which was adorned with numerous fangs and blood red lines which glowed in the darkness. On his left arm was a diamond-shaped shield, adorned with more fangs and blood red lines while his right hand held a broadsword with a bat wing hilt and jagged edges. His face was handsome, although set in a scowl, revealing his vampiric fangs as his eyes flared a blood red. His hair was long and white, almost glowing in the moonlight. Around his circled two purple orbs representing his Overlay Units. (5/2,500/0)

" _Xyz Summon! Crimson Knight Vampire Bram!_ "

The grisgol's eyes widened as it stared down the Xyz monster. It had more than enough attack power to wipe it out and win the duel for Adrian!

"Ah, you can see you know the end is coming," Adrian nodded as Bram walked down the stairs to stand next to the Shadowchaser. "Very well. I shall make this quick then."

The grisgol looked around frantically for an Action Card which might save it. Were it the religious sort, it would have thanked whatever gods it may have followed to find one stuck in the ground next to the base of the steps. It dashed and scooped up the card, glancing at it for only a moment before slapping it onto its Duel Disk, "Action Card: Arachne Soul! One monster cannot attack for the next Battle Phase!"

The card appeared, generating a red orb which transformed into a giant spider with the top half of a woman instead of a head. The woman screeched before launching a stream of webbing which wrapped around Bram's legs, sticking him into place. The vampire knight didn't appreciate the gesture as he glared at the Arachne, causing it to squeak as it faded away.

"Heh, heh, heh…" the grisgol chuckled. "I have…one more turn."

Adrian grinned slightly maliciously, showing elongated incisors, although not as pronounced as Bram's, "Actually, no you don't. Bram has other abilities which will end this for me besides his attack scores. By removing one Overlay Unit," Adrian slipped a Vampire Lord out from under his card, placing it in the graveyard. Bram reacted by thrusting his sword, stabbing one of the circling orbs, causing it to break before the sword began to glow with a bloody red haze.

"By doing this, I can select a monster in _your_ graveyard and Special Summon it to my side of the field!" Adrian finished, causing the grisgol to let out another wheeze.

Bram lifted his sword before pointing it out at an open patch of ground. A beam of red power shot from the sword and struck it. As soon as it did, the ground buckled and shook before almost expanding as once again, Giganticastle rose up from the depths of the earth. This time, it did not appear to be sandstone, but made of black stone while its castle sections had a more gothic style to it than it did before.

Adrian nodded at the golem, "The downside is that when I do this, only the revived monster can attack, but that hardly matters at this point," he looked back down to the grisgol which was shaking so much it's organs could be heard clanging. "Now then, Giganticastle will attack you directly!"

Giganticastle raised a massive fist and swung down at the construct. The grisgol attempted to run, but the Giganticastle would not be deterred and its fist smashed down on top of its former master. A quake went through the grounds as dust kicked up into the air from the impact.

 **Adrian: 250 - Grisgol: 0**

 **ADRIAN WINS!**

The entire area flashed and was bathed in white light before it dimmed down again. The Vampire Kingdom was gone, revealing the burnt out stand where the duel had begun. Adrian stood where he did when it began, but the grisgol was flat on its back. Next to it was the crystal ball it used to begin the duel, the Vampire Kingdom card laying on the ground next to it.

"Now then, for the crime of burglary, trespassing, and theft of over likely a thousand dollars, you grisgol are hereby under arrest," Adrian declared, reaching into his pocket.

The grisgol wheezed before its body began to twitch. Adrian stopped when he looked at it and noticed the amulets on its chest beginning to spark and lose their shine. Withdrawing his hand from his pocket, Adrian instead reached for his whip, "Grisgol, can you hear me?"

The trinkets sputtered before finally giving out, turning dark and dull with no magic power fueling them. Quite suddenly, in a flurry of movement, the grisgol got up before lunging for Adrian with a howl of fury. The tips of its fingers had wooden spikes emerge, each dripping with some kind of wasted potion.

The Shadowchaser reacted quickly, grabbing the whip at his side before lashing out with it in one smooth motion. The enchanted and alchemically treated leather impacted against the grisgol's body, tearing through the parchment skin and breaking the glass organs within. The entire body collapsed in a heap, flashing with purple magic power as the curse took effect.

From the middle of the remains rolled out a dark purple crystal orb which was the size of a tennis ball, but exuding malice and hate like few truly could. Adrian cracked his whip a second time, striking the crystal with remarkable accuracy and causing it to shatter with a malevolent wail.

The Shadowchaser quickly averted his eyes from the remains as he rolled up his whip. Securing it to his side once again, he shook his head at the waste of it all. It seemed the trinkets the grisgol had been using to allow itself sentience gave out thanks to the duel and it moved on instinct again. Adrian uttered a soft prayer for whatever soul, or what passed for one in a construct, the grisgol had.

Equipment secured, he lifted his Duel Pad and activated the phone function, "This is Belmont calling from the Shadow Market in the burnt out section. I need a cleanup squad here for grisgol remains." He stopped as he got a reply. "Yes, you will have to catalogue everything. If it's not reported stolen or missing, then we can just ship it back to Wagner. Just get it done."

Ending the call, Adrian turned and left the stall so to ensure no one tried looking into it before the cleanup crews arrived to remove the curse and begin taking stock of the remains.

' **To Hunt the Night' is the creed of my father's side, but in this day and age it is not so easy to tell the difference between was is truly right and what was truly wrong. That was what a Shadowchaser did on a daily basis. Many Shadows live in the night, but wish to remain at peace. This modern age of law made following the old creed difficult, but in the days to come I would truly learn how difficult it was to do what was truly right, and what was just easier to do. It sounded so simple at first, but now I know better.**

 **-Adrian Belmont**

-Vampire Lord: End-

Next Chapter: We have met the first of the Shadowchasers who call Ottawa their turf. Although Adrian was the first, he is by far not the only member of the Shadowchasers keeping an eye on the city. Next we meet one of his comrades, although her methods are quite different from his.

Next Chapter: G. B. Hunter

* * *

 **Shadowchaser Files**

 **Coldfist the Geriviar**

In the isolated mountains of Alaska where even the foolish and the fearless tread lives one of the bitterest examples of a giant to exist. He stands thirty feet tall with a rough gray/blue hide which sports natural carapace armor and spikes. His head is sunken between his shoulders and he sports four arms with two elbow joints. He only wears enough clothing to stave off the cold, mostly composed of animal skins or whatever he's collected over the years. He is known as Coldfist, a geriviar species of giant.

Coldfist appeared in the Alaskan mountains centuries ago and hadn't seen fit to leave since. He patrols his 'territory' relentlessly as geriviars do and stomps out anybody who dares invade it or worse, trying make buildings in it. Fortunately, with how isolated the region he calls home is, Coldfist is usually left alone and that's the way he likes it.

Once he became known to the Shadowchasers and the Shadow community at large, that was where things began to get tricky. Standard procedure for the Shadowchasers is that unless they're proving to be a threat, geriviars are to be left alone and heavy punishment is put down on anyone who disturbs them. They do not live in communities like other giants do and hold a deep distrust and resentment towards pretty much every other race. The region Coldfist calls his territory is uninhabited and so far Jalal's efforts have kept people from trying to develop it, keeping the giant contented.

The problem is that rumors have been spreading that Coldfist has managed to bring a collection of relics and treasures with him from the World of Shadow. As such, all manner of treasure hunters and fortune seekers have tried slip past the Shadowchasers who keep an eye on Coldfist's territory to find him and then try to steal his amassed treasures. It has neither been confirmed nor denied that Coldfist even has any such treasures, but that is mostly because no one has been able to get a civil conversation out of the geriviar to be able to ask him that question.

The Shadowchasers keep a close watch on the edge of Coldfist's territory, cutting off anyone who is trying to sneak in for the supposed treasure he keeps. Its feared that if one of those treasure seekers do manage to find him and survive to make off with something, it will set the giant off in a rampage which will have him chasing after the thief to get back what is his.

 **Story Ideas**

Coldfist wouldn't be much of a character in himself, more like an overhanging threat. As such, a story involving him would likely either involve the Shadowchasers struggling to stop a thief from bothering him, chasing a thief to return something stolen from him before an appointed time, or a hapless victim being forced to search him out in order to somehow get something from him. He could very well have powerful and/or valuable treasures from the World of Shadow he refuses to part with, although if the price is right that might change.

He could also serve as a secondary antagonist as geriviars hold an irrational hate towards buildings and will often take the opportunity to knock them down. As such, some antagonists might be able to hire him for a job to bust open buildings and make a terror of himself.

 **Deck Ideas**

Coldfist does know how to duel and he can duel well, although convincing him to duel instead of smashing someone would be the hard part. Despite his muscle and durability, he like many geriviars prefer to fight from a distance if they can manage it. As part of a deal he cut with the Shadowchasers to let them watch his borders under his supervision, he was given a specially made duel disk and his own deck, the contents known only to Jalal and his successors. His deck will likely contain BIG monsters so perhaps something like the Hieratic Dragons, Exxod, or even the Gate Guardian for example.


End file.
